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THE OSTRICH. 
•• What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scornpth the horse and his rider." — Iob xxxix. IS. 



WOOD'S 

Bible Animals. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE 



HABITS, STRUCTURE, AND USES OF EVERY LIVING 

CREATURE MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES, 

FROM THE APE TO THE CORAL; 



EXPLAINING ALL THOSE PASSAGES IN THE OLD AND NEW 

TESTAMENTS IN WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE TO 

BEAST, BIRD, REPTILE, FISH, OR INSECT. 



Illustrated with ouer mm jfauiutred New JHesign|, 

BY KEYL, WOOD, AND E. A. SMITH; 
ENGRAVED BY G. PEARSON. 



v . BY THE 

0'' I 

Rev. J. G. WOOD, M.A., F.L.S., Etc., 

Author of "Homes Without Hands," "Common Objects of the Sea-Shore and Country, 
"The Illustrated Natural History," "Strange Dwellings," "Insects at Home," Etc. 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED ARTICLES 

ON EVOLUTION, 

By Rev. JAMES McCOSH, D.D., 

President of the College of New Jersey, 






,Y 



<C 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS, 

By Rev. DANIEL MARCH, D.D. 
BRADLEY, GARRETSON & CO., 

66 N. FOURTH ST.. PHILADELPHIA. 



WILLIAM GARRETSON & CO., 

GALESBURG, ILL.: COLUMBUS, OHIO: NASHVILLE, TENN. : HOUSTON, TEXAS 
SAN FK AN CISCO, CAL. 

1875. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 

BRADLEY & COMPANY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Sherman & Co. 
Printers, Phila. 



PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 



The author of "Bible Animals" has long been known in England 
and America as a learned and accurate as well as popular writer in 
various departments of natural history. He has the happy faculty of 
making the results of dry scientific study and painstaking observation 
interesting and instructive to all classes of readers. He throws himself 
into his work with that quiet and genial enthusiasm which awakens 
sympathy and inspires confidence. He does not mingle so much of 
romance with sober reality as to leave little distinction between the 
facts of science and the pleasantries of fiction ; nor is he so tied to de- 
tail and definition that the reader gets nothing but the bare skeleton 
when he would see the grace and action of the living body. 

Mr. Wood writes about birds and beasts as if he knew them and 
liked them, and so he makes his readers like them too. He speaks so 
truly and kindly of his dumb friends and companions of the fields and 
woods that they would certainly vote him many thanks if they had 
learned our habit of meeting in public assembly and repaying our 
benefactors with resolutions. 

In the present work — a new and enlarged edition of which is now 
offered to the American public — the author has brought out all the re- 
sources of his mature and cultivated powers. It has been the more 
congenial to him, and he has made it the more interesting to others, 
because the subject touches more closely upon the line of his sacred 
convictions and his professional studies. In his vivid representations 
he makes ministers and missionaries of the birds of the air, the beasts 
of the field and the fish of the sea. He shows how closely the Bible is 
in harmony with the great work of creation which in the beginning 
was pronounced very good. He gives the habits and the history of 
every living creature named in the sacred Scriptures, and he makes the 
whole world of animated nature stand forth to interpret and to adorn 
the divine word. 

In this work the Bible is made to appear not as a dry treatise or a 
dull compound of theories and propositions, but as a living book, 
thoroughly in sympathy with all the interests and occupations of the 
living world. It takes us back from this hard-working, matter-of-fact 
age to the early time when men learned lessons of faith from the birds 

3 



4 PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 

of the air and the lilies of the field, and they had the less need of 
trained choirs and cultivated music in worship, because the mountains 
and the hills broke forth before them into singing, and all the trees of 
the field clapped their hands. 

This work combines the best results of both scientific and popular 
instruction. The lion and the bear, the wolf and the fox, the leviathan 
and the unicorn, the eagle and the sparrow, do most to illustrate the 
Bible when they appear in their true character and their habits and 
history are best understood. The critic will find little in the book to 
condemn ; the common people will read it gladly. It is well worthy of 
a place in every house beside the sacred book which it honors and 
expounds. 

The work is enriched with illustrations, all of which are taken from 
real life, and many are drawn with great spirit and power. "The 
Ostrich and its Hunters," " Dogs prowling at Night," " Oxen bearing 
the Yoke," "Camels and their Burdens," "Sheep and the Shepherd," 
"The Elver Horse," "The Wild Ass," and many others, will repay a 
careful study. The accuracy and skill and taste displayed in these 
illustrations make them a commentary and a natural history com- 
bined. 

The present edition is provided with an index of texts explained, 
and the original index has been very much enlarged, to adapt it to 
general use. The vexed question of evolution comes up just now in 
connection with all studies and discussions in natural history. And 
the publishers believe themselves to have added a fitting and valuable 
appendix to the work in the clear and elaborate article on this subject 
written expressly for this edition by Rev. Dr. McCosh. All intelligent 
readers must agree in the opinion that the learned doctor has been re- 
markably successful in the attempt to treat so abstruse and complicated 
a theme in the most condensed and popular form. The closing article 
upon "Travel and Research in the Bible Lands" is furnished by Rev. 
Dr. March, who has visited the countries of which he speaks, and who 
has given especial attention to researches now going on in connection 
with the Palestine Exploration Society. The publishers are confident 
that in issuing the volume in its present form they are supplying all 
students of the sacred Scriptures with an important and acceptable 
addition to the materials for the illustration of the divine word. 



PREFACE. 



Owing to the conditions of time, language, country, and race 
under which the various books of the Holy Scriptures were 
written, it is impossible that they should be rightly understood 
at the present day, and in this land, without the aid of many 
departments of knowledge. Contemporary history, philology, 
geography, and ethnology must all be pressed into the service of 
the true Biblical scholar ; and there is yet another science which 
is to the full as important as either of the others. This is 
Natural History, in its widest sense. 

The Oriental character of the Scriptural books causes them to 
abound with metaphors and symbols, taken from the common 
life of the time. They embrace the barren precipitous rocks 
alternating with the green and fertile valleys, the trees, flowers, 
and herbage, the creeping things of the earth, the fishes of the 
sea, the birds of the air, and the beasts which abode with man or 
dwelt in the deserts and forests. Unless, therefore, we under- 
stand these writings as those understood them for whom they 
were written, it is evident that we shall misinterpret instead 
of rightly comprehending them. Even with secular books of 
equally ancient date, the right understanding of them would be 
important, but in the case of the Holy Scriptures it is more than 
important, and becomes a duty. The field which is laid open 
to us is so large that only one department of Natural History, 
namely Zoology, can be treated in this work, although it is 



VI PREFACE. 

illustrated by many references to other branches of Natural 
History, to the physical geography of Palestine, Egypt, and Syria, 
the race-character of the inhabitants, and historical parallels. 
The importance of Zoology in elucidating the Scriptures cannot 
be overrated, and without its aid we shall not only miss the 
point of innumerable passages of the Old and New Testament, 
but the words of our Lord Himself will either be totally misin- 
terpreted, or at least lose the greater part of their significance. 

The object of the present work is therefore to take, in its 
proper succession, every creature whose name is given in the 
Scriptures, and to supply so much of its history as will enable 
the reader to understand all the passages in which it is men- 
tioned. A general account of each animal will be first given, 
followed by special explanations (wherever required) of those 
texts in which pointed reference is made to it, but of which the 
full force cannot be gathered without a knowledge of Natural 
History 

The illustrations are all taken from the living animals, while 
the accessory details have been obtained either from the 
Egyptian or Assyrian monuments, from actual specimens, or 
from the photographs and drawings of the latest travellers. They 
have been selected and arranged so that each illustration explains 
one or more passages of Scripture, and it is hoped that the work 
will possess equal interest for the natural historian and the 
Biblical student. 



CONTENTS, 



MAMMALIA. 



THE APE. 

The Monkey tribe rarely mentioned in Scripture — Why the Ape was introduced 
into Palestine— Solomon's ships, and their cargo of Apes, peacocks, ivory, 
and gold — Various species of Monkey that might have been imported — The 
Rhesus Monkey — The Hoonuman, or Entellus — Habits of the Monkey, and 
reverence in which it is held by the natives — The Egyptians and their Baboon 
worship — Idois and memorials — The Wauderoo — Its singular aspect — Reasons 
why it should be introduced into Palestine — General habits of the Wanderoo 
— Its love of curiosities — Probability that Solomon had a menagerie — Various 
species of Monkey that may be included in the term Kophim— The Satyr 
of Scripture — Babylon in its glory and fall — Fulfilment of prophecy — Judaic 
ideas of the Satyrs, or Seirim 1 



THE BAT. 

The Bat mentioned always with abhorrence — Meaning of the Hebrew name — The 
prohibition against eating Bats — The edible species, their food and mode of 
life — Tbe noisome character of the Bat, and the nature of its dwelling-place- 
Its hatred of light — Baruch and his prophecy — Appropriateness of the pro- 
phecy — Singular Mahommedan legend respecting the original creation of the 
Bat — The legend compared with the apocryphal gospels — The Bats of Palestine 
— Mr. Tristram's discoveries — Bats found in the quarries from whicli the stone 
of the Temple was hewn — Edible Bats in a cave near the centre of Palestine— 
Another species of long-tailed Bat captured in the rock caves where hermit;: 
had been buried — Other species which probably inhabit Palestine . . .11 



THE LION. 

Frequent mention of the Lion in the Scriptures — Probability that it was once 
a common animal, though now extinct — Keasons for its disappearance — The 
Lion employed as an emblem in the Bible — Similarity of the African and 
Asiatic species — The chief characteristics of the Lion — Its strength, activity, 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

and mode of seizing its prey — Various names of the Lion — Its courage when 
roused — Its roar, and peculiar mode of utterance — Invisibility of the Lion at 
dusk — The Lion lying in wait — The dwelling-place of the Lion — Its restless- 
ness at night — Passages illustrative of these characteristics — Modes of cap- 
turing the Lion — The pitfall and the net — Lions kept as curiosities — The 
Lion-hunt as depicted va the buildings of ancient Nineveh 18 



THE LEOPARD. 

fhe Leopard not often mentioned in the Scriptures — Its attributes exactly 
described — Probability that several animals were classed under the name— 
How the Leopard takes its prey — Craft of the Leopard — Its ravages among 
the flocks — The empire of man over the beast — The Leopard at bay — 
Localities wherein the Leopard lives — The skin of the Leopard— Various 
passages of Scripture explained 29 



THE CAT. 

The Cat never mentioned by name in the canonical Scriptures, and only once in 
the Apocrypha — The Cat domesticated among the Egyptians, and trained in 
bird-catching— Neglected capabilities of the Cat — Anecdote of an English 
Cat that caught fish for her master — Presumed reason why the Scriptures are 
silent about the Cat — The Cat mentioned by Baruch 36 



THE DUG. 

Antipathy displayed by Orientals towards the Dog, and manifested throughout 
the Scriptures — Contrast between European and Oriental Dogs — Habits of 
the Dogs of Palestine -The city Dogs and their singular organization — The 
herdsman's Dog— Various passages of Scripture — Dogs and the crumbs — 
Their numbers — Signor Pierotti's experience of the Dogs — Possibility of their 
perfect domestication — The peculiar humiliation of Lazarus — Voracity of the 
Wild Dogs — The fate of Ahab and Jezebel— Anecdote of a volunteer Watch- 
dog — Innate affection of the Dog towards mankind — Peculiar local instinct of 
the Oriental Dog — Albert Smith's account of the Dogs at Constantinople — 
The Dervish and his Dogs — The Greyhound— Uncertainty of the word . 39 



THE WOLF. 

Identity of the animal indisputable— Its numbers, past and present — The Wolf 
never mentioned directly — Its general habits — References in Scripture — Its 
mingled ferocity and cowardice — Its association into packs — The Wolf's bite 
— How it takes its prey— Its ravages among the flocks — Allusions to this 
habit — The shepherd and his nightly enemies — Mr. Tristram and the Wolf — 
A semi-tamed Wolf at Marsaba 50 



CONTENTS. IX 



THE FOX, OR JACKAL. 

The two animals comprehended under one name — The Jackal — Its numbers in 
ancient and modern Palestine — General habits of the Jackal — Localities 
where the Jackal is found — Samson, and the three hundred "foxes" — Popular 
objections to the narrative — The required number easily obtained — Signor 
Pierotti's remarks upon the Jackal — An unpleasant position — How the fields 
were set on fire — The dread of fire inherent iu wild beasts — The truth of the 
narrative proved — The Fox and Jackal destructive among grapes — Allusions 
to the Fox in the New Testament — Partially tamed Foxes 55 



THE HYAENA. 

The Hyaena not mentioned by name, but evidently alluded to — Signification of 
the word Zabua — Translated in the Septuagint as " Hyaena " — A scene described 
by the Prophet Isaiah — The Hyaena plentiful in Palestine at the present day 
— Its well-known cowardice and fear of man — The uses of the Hyaena, and the 
services which it renders — The particular species of Hyaena — The Hyana in 
the burial-grounds— Hunting the Hyaena — Curious superstition respecting 
the talismanic properties of its skin — Precautions adopted in flaying it — 
Popular legends of the Hyama and its. magical powers — The cavern home of 
the Hyaena — The Valley of Zeboim 62 



THE WEASEL. 

Difficulty of identifying the Weasel of Scripture — The Weasel of Palestine- 
Suggested identity with the Ichneumon 68 



THE FERRET. 

Translation of the Hebrew word Anakah — The Shrew-mouse of Palestine — 
Etymologj of the word — The Gecko or Fan-foot, its habits and peculiar cry 
— Repugnance felt by the Arabs of the present day towards the Gecko . 69 



THE BADGER. 

Difficulty of identifying the Tachash of Scripture — References to " badgers' skins*" 
— The Dugong thought to be the Badger — The Bedouin sandals— Nature of 
the materials for the Tabernacle — Habits of the Badger — The species found in 
Palestine — Uses of the Badgers' skins— Looseness of zoological terms . . 70 



CONTENTS. 



THE BEAR. 

The Syrian Bear — Identity of the Hebrew and Arabic titles — Its colour variable 
according to age — Bears once numerous in Palestine, and now only occasion- 
ally seen — Reason for their diminution — Present localities of the Bear, and 
its favourite haunts — Food of the Bear — Its general habits — Its ravages 
among the flocks — The Bear dangerous to mankind — The Bear robbed of her 
whelps — Illustrative passages — Its mode of fighting — Various references to 
the Bear, from the time of Samuel to that of St. John 75 



THE HEDGEHOG, OR BITTERN. 

Various readings of the word Kippdd — The Jewish Bible and its object — The 
Syrian Hedgehog and its appearance — Its fondness for dry spots — The pro- 
phecies of Isaiah and Zephaniah, and their bearing on the subject — The 
Porcupine supposed to be the Kippod — The Hedgehog and Porcupine called 
by the same name in Greek and Arabic — Habits of the Porcupine — Its quills. 
and the manner of their shedding 80 



THE PORCUPINE. 

Presumed identity of the Kippod with the Porcupine — The same Greek name 
applied to the Porcupine and Hedgehog — Habits of the Porcupine — The 
common Porcupine found plentifully in Palestine So 



THE MOLE. 

The two Hebrew words which are translated as " Mole " — Obscurity of the forniei 
name — A parallel case in our own language — The second name — The Moles 
and the Bats, why associated together — The real Mole of Scripture, its 
different names, and its place in zoology — Description of the Mole-rat and 
its general habits — Curious superstition — Discovery of the species by Mr 
Tristram — Scripture and science — How the Mole-rat finds its food— Distinc- 
tion between the Mole and the present animal 86 



THE MOUSE. 

"onjectures as to the right translation of the Hebrew word Akbar — Signification 
of the word — The Mice which marred the land — Miracles, and their economy 
of power — The Field-mouse — Its destructive habits and prolific nature — The 
insidious nature of its attacks, and its power of escaping observation — The 
Hamster, and its habits — Its custom of storing up provisions lor the winter 
— Its fertility and unsociable nature — The Jerboa, its activity and destructive- 
ness— Jerboas and Hamsters eaten by Arabs and Syrians — Various species oi 
Dormice and Sand-rats 91 



CONTENTS. XI 



THE HAKE. 



The prohibitions of the Mosaic law — The chewing of the cud and division of the 
hoof — Identity of the Hare of Scripture — Rumination described — The Hare a 
rodent and not a ruminant. — Cowper and his Hares — Structure of the rodent 
tooth — The Mosaic law accommodated to its recipients — The Hares of Palestine 
and their habits 9(? 



CATTLE. 

The cattle of Palestine, and their decadence at the present day — Ox-flesh not 
used for food in modern times— Oxen of the stall, and oxen of the pasture — 
The use of the ox in agriculture — The yoke and its structure — The plough 
and the goad — The latter capable of being used as a weapon — Treacling out 
the corn — The cart and its wheels — The ox used as a beast of burden — Cattle 
turned loose to graze — The bulls of Bashan — Curiosity of the ox tribe — A 
season of drought — Branding the cattle — An Egyptian field scene — Cattle- 
keeping an honourable post — The ox as used for sacrifice— Ox-worship — The 
bull Apis, and his history — Persistency r>f the bull-worship — Jeroboam's sin 
— Various names of cattle — The Indian buffalo 101 



THE WILD BULL. 

The To, Wild Bull of the Old Testament — Passages in which it is mentioned— 
The Wild Bull in the net — Hunting with nets in the East — The Oryx sup- 
posed to be the To of Scripture — Description of the Oryx, its locality, ap- 
pearance, and habits — The points in which the Oryx agrees with the T6 — 
The " snare" in which the foot is taken, as distinguished from the net . 116 



THE EEEM, OR -UNICORN" OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Reem evidently known to the Jews — Various theories concerning the Unicorn 
— Supposed identity with the Indian Rhinoceros — Passages of Scripture 
alluding to the strength, violent and intractable temper of the Reem — The 
Reem a two-horned animal — Its evident connexion with the Ox tribe — Its 
presumed identity with the now extinct Urus — Mr. Dawkins' treatise on the 
Urus — Enormous size and dangerous character of the Urns — Rabbinical legend 
of the Reem— Identity :f the Urus with the modern varieties of cattle — The 
Bull-hunts of Nineveh 121 



Xll CONTENTS. 



THE BISON. 



The Bison tribe and its distinguishing marks — Its former existence in Palestine — 
Its general habits — Origin of its name — It* musky odour — Size and speed ol 
the Bison— Its dangerous character when brought to bay — Its defence against 
the Wolf — Its untameable disposition 131 



THE GAZELLE, OR EOE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Gazelle identified with the Tsebi, i.e. the Roe or Roebuck of Scripture — 
Various passages relating to the Tsebi — Its swiftness, its capabilities as a 
beast of chase, its beauty, and the quality of its flesh — The Tsebiyah rendered 
in Greek as Tabitha, and translated as Dorcas, or Gazelle — Different varieties 
of the Gazelle — How the Gazelle defends itself against wild beasts — Chase of 
- the Gazelle — The net, the battue, and the pitfall — Coursing the Gazelle with 
greyhounds and falcons — Mr. Chasseaud's account of a hunting party — 
Gentleness of the Gazelle 133 



THE PYGARG, OR ADDAX. 

The Dishon or Dyshon — Signification of the word Pygarg — Certainty that the 
Dishon is an antelope, and that it must be one of a few species — Former and 
present range of the Addax— Description of the Addax — The Strepsiceros 
of Pliny 14] 



THE FALLOW-DEER. OR BUD ALE. 

The word Jachmur evidently represents a species of antelope — Probability that 
the Jachmur is identical with the Bubal e, or Bekk'r-el- Wash— Resemblance 
of the animal to the ox tribe — Its ox-like horns and mode of attack — Its 
capability of domestication — Former and present range of the Bubale — Its 
representation on the monuments of ancient Egypt — Delicacy of its flesh — 
Size and general appearance ot the animal 143 



THE SHEEP. 

Importance of Sheep in the Bible— The Sheep the chief wealth of the pastoral 
tribes— Tenure of land— Value of good pasture-land— Arab shepherds of the 
present day— Difference between the shepherds of Palestine and England — 
Wanderings of the flocks in search of food — Value of the wells — How the 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

Sheep are watered — Duties of the shepherd — The shepherd a kind of irregular 
soldier — His use of the sling — Sheep following their shepherd — Calling the 
Sheep by name — The shepherd usually a part owner of the flocks — Structure 
of the sheepfolds — The rock caverns of Palestine — David's adventure with 
Saul — Penning of the Sheep by night — Use of the dogs — Sheep sometimes 
brought up by hand — How Sheep are fattened in the Lebanon district — 
The two breeds of Sheep in Palestine — The broad-tailed Sheep, and its 
peculiarities — Reference to this peculiarity in the Bible — The Talmud ical 
writers, and their directions to sheep-owners 146 



THE CHAMOIS. 

The Zemer or Chamois only once mentioned in the Bible — Signification of the 
word Zemcr — Probability that the Zemer is the Aoudad — Appearance of the 
Aoudad — Its strength and activity — Fierce temper of the adult male — Horns 
of the Aoudad— Their probable use as musical instruments — Habits of the 
Aoudad — The Moufion probably classed with the Aoudad under the name of 
Zemer — Appearance and habits of the Moufion 18:" 



THE GOAT. 

Value of the Goat — Its use in furnishing food — The male kid the usual animal of 
slaughter — Excellence of the flesh, and deception of Isaac — Milk of the Goat 
— An Oriental milking scene — The hair of the Goat, and the uses to which it 
is put — The Goat's skin used for leather — The "bottle" of Scripture — Mode 
of making and repairing the bottles — Ruse of the Gibeonites — The " bottle in 
the smoke " — The sacks and the kneading-troughs — The Goat as used for 
sacrifice — General habits of the Goat — Separation of the Goats from the sheep 
— Performing Goats — Different breeds of Goats in Palestine . . . .189 



THE WILD GOAT. 

"he AzelimovWild Goats of Scripture identical with the Beden or Arabian Ibex — 
Different names of the Beden— Its appearance and general habits — En-gedi, 
or Goats' Fountain- — The Beden formerly very plentiful in Palestine, and now 
tolerably common— Its agility— Difficulty of catching or killing it— How the 
young are captured — Flesh of the Beden— Use of the horns at the present day 
—The Ako of Deuteronomy 203 



THE DEER. 

The Hart and Hind of Scripture— Species of Deer existing in Palestine — Earliest 
mention of the Hind— The Hart classed among the clean animals — Passages 
alluding to its speed — Care of the mother for her young, and her custom of 
secreting it— Tameable character of the Deer— The Rabbinical writers and 
their theories — Shedding of the Deer's horns— Its fabled mode of sleeping — 
The gall in the tail — Curious traditions of the enmity between Deer and 
serpents— Virtues of a Deer-skin coat 208 



XIV CONTENTS. 

THE CAMEL. 

CHAPTER I. 

The two species of Camel, and the mode of distinguishing them — Value of the 
Camel in the East — Camels mentioned as elements of wealth — Uses of the 
Camel — The Jews forbidden to eat its fiesh — The milk of the Camel — Thirst- 
enduring capability — The internal reservoir — The hump, and its uses to the 
animal — The Camel as a beast of draught and burden — How the Camel is laden 
— Knowledge of its own powers — Camels for riding — Difficulty of sitting a 
Camel — A rough-paced steed — Method of guiding the Camel — The mesh'ab, 
or Camel-stick of office — The women's saddle — Rachel's stratagem — Ornaments 
of the Camel — The swift dromedary, Heirie, or Deloul — Its ungainly aspect — 
Speed and endurance of the Deloul — The Camel-posts of Bornu — Camel- 
drivers and their conduct— The driver's song — Young Camels and their 
appearance — The deserted Camel 216 



CHAPTER II. 

The Camel and its master — Occasional fury of the animal — A boy killed by a 
Camel -Another instance of an infuriated Camel — Theory respecting the 
Arab and his Camel — Apparent stupidity of the Camel — Its hatred of a load, 
and mode of expressing its disapprobation — Riding a Camel through the 
streets - A narrow escape — Ceremony of weaning a young Camel — The Camel's 
favourite food — Structure of the foot and adaptation to locality — Difficulty 
in provisioning — Camel's hair and skin — Sal-ammoniac and desert fuel — 
The Camel and the needle's eye — Straining at a gnat and swallowing a 
Camel 233 



THE BACTEIAjS" CAMEL. 

General description of the animal — Its use in mountain roads — Peculiar formation 
of the foot — Uses of a mixed breed — Its power of enduring cold — Used chiefly 
as a beast of draught — Unfitness for the plough — The cart and mode of 
harnessiug — The load which it can draw — Camel-skin ropes — A Rabbinical 
legend 244 



THE HOESE. 

The Hebrew words which signify the Horse — The Horse introduced into Palestine 
from Egypt — Similarity of the war-horse of Scripture and the Arab horse of 
the present day — Characteristics of the Horse — Courage and endurance of the 
Horse — Hardness of its unshod hoofs — Love of the Arab for his Horse — Diffi- 
culty of purchasing the animal — The Horse prohibited to the Israelites — 
Solomon's disregard of the edict — The war-chariot, its form and use — Probable 
construction of the iron chariot — The cavalry Horse — Lack of personal interest 
in the animal 248 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



THE ASS. 

Importance of the Ass in the East— Its general use for the saddle — Riding 
the Ass not a mark of humility — The triumphal entry — White Asses — 
Character of the Scriptural Ass — Saddling the Ass — The Ass used in agricul- 
ture — The Ass's millstone — The water-wheel and the plough — Reminiscences 
of the Ass in the Scriptural narrative — Its value as property — The flesh of 
the Ass — The siege of Samaria and its horrors— Various legends respecting the 
Ass— The impostor and his fate — -Samson and Balaam 264 



THE WILD ASS. 

The Arod and Pere of Scripture— Various allusions to the Wild Ass — Its swiftness 
and wildness — The Wild Ass of Asia and Africa— Knowledge of the animal 
displayed hy the sacred writers — How the Wild Ass is hunted— Excellence of 
its flesh — Sir R. K. Porter's meeting with a Wild Ass — Origin of the domestic 
Ass— The Wild Asses of Quito 279 



THE MULE. 

Ancient use of the Mule — Various breeds of Mule — Supposed date of its introduc- 
tion into Palestine — Mule-breeding forbidden to the Jews — The Mule as a 
saddle-animal — Its use on occasions of state — The king's Mule — Mules brought 
from Babylon after the captivity — Obstinacy of the Mule — The Mule as a 
beast of burden — The " Mule's burden " of earth — Mules imported by the 
Phoenicians — Legends respecting the Mule 285 



SWINE. 

The Mosaic prohibition of the pig — Hatred of Swine by Jews and Mahometans 
— A strange use of bacon — The prodigal son — Resistance to the prosecution of 
Antiochus — Swine hated by the early Egyptians — Supposed connexion between 
Swine and diseases of the skin — Destruction of the herd of Swine — The 

- locality of the event discovered — Pigs bred for the monasteries — The jewel of 
gold in a Swine's snout — The wild boar of the woods, and the beast of the 
reeds — The damage which it does to the vines — General account of the wild 
boar of Palestine — Excellence of its flesh 292 



THE ELEPHANT. 



The Elephant indirectly mentioned in the Authorized Version — Solomon's ivory 
throne — Ivory used in Egypt — Horns of ivory — The ivory palaces — Beds of 
ivory — The Tyrian ships — Ivory mentioned by Homer — Vessels of ivory — 



XVI CONTENTS. 

The Elephant as an engine of war — Antiochus and his Elephants — Oriental 
exaggeration — Self-devotion of Eleazar — Attacking the Elephants, and their 
gradual abandonment in war — The Talmudieal writers on the Elephant — A 
funeral and an omen 302 



THE CONEY, OR HYRAX. 

''he Shaphan of Scripture, and the correct meaning of the word — Identification 
of the Shaphan with the Syrian Hyrax — Description of the animal — Its feet, 
teeth, and apparent rumination — Passages in which the Coney is mentioned — 
Habits of the animal — Its activity and wariness — The South African Hyrax, 
and its mode of life — Difficulty of procuring it — Similarity in appearance and 
habits of the Syrian species — Three species of Hyrax known to naturalists — 
The Talmudieal writers on the Shaphan — The jerboa and the rabbit — A 
curious speculation and a judicious compromise 312 



BEHEMOTH. 

Literal translation of the word Behemoth — Various theories respecting the 
identity of the animal — The Hippopotamus known to the ancient Hebrews — ■ 
Geographical range of the animal — " He eateth grass like the ox " — Ravages 
of the Hippopotamus among the crops— Structure of the mouth and teeth — 
The " sword or scythe " of the Hippopotamus— Some strange theories — Haunts 
of the Hippopotamus — The Egyptian hunter — A valuable painting — Strength 
of the Hippopotamus — Rising of the Nile — Modern hunters — Wariness of the 
Hippopotamus — The pitfall and the drop-trap 318 



BIEDS. 



THE LAMMERGEIER, OR OSSIFRAGE OF SCRIPTURE. 

Difficulty of identifying the various birds mentioned in Scripture — The Vultures 
of Palestine — The Lammergeier, or Ossifrage of Scripture — The Hebrew word 
Peres, and its signification— The Ossifrage, or Bone-breaker — Appearance of 
the Lammergeier — Its flight and mode of feeding — How the Lammergeier kills 
snakes and tortoises, and breaks marrow-bones — Mode of destroying the 
chamois and mountain sheep — Nest of the Lammergeier 333 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE, OR GIER-EAGLE. 

The Racham or Gier-Eagle identified with the Egyptian Vulture — Its appearance 
on the Egyptian monuments — Signification of the word Rdchdm — Various 
translations of the word — The shape, size, and colour of the bird — Its value as 
a scavenger, and its general habits — The Egyptian Vultures and the griffons — 
Its fondness for the society of man— Nest of the Egyptian Vulture . . 323 



CONTENTS. XVti 



THE GRIFFON VULTURE, OR EAGLE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Griffon Vulture identified with the Eagle of Scripture — The word Neslier and 
its signification— Geographical range of the Griffon— Its mode of flight and 
sociable habits — The featherless head and neck of the bird — The Vulture used 
as an image of strength, swiftness, and rapacity— Its powers of sight--How 
Vultures assemble round a earcase — Nesting-places of the Griffon — Mr. 
Tristram's description of the Griffon — Rock-caves of the Wady Hamam— Care 
of the young, and teaching them to fly — Strength of the Griffon — Its emble- 
matical use in Egypt anil Assyria — The god Nisroch — Noble aspect of the 
Griffon — Its longevity — Various attitudes assumed by the bird . . . . 344 



THE EAGLE. 

Signification of the word Asniych — The Golden Eagle and its habits — The Imperial 
Eagle — Its solitary mode of life — The Short-toed Eagle common in Palestine 
— Its zoological position — Food of the Short-toed Eagle — Its form and 
colour 354 



THE OSPREY. 

The Usprey, or Fishing Eagle — Its geographical range — Mode of securing prey- 
Structure of its feet — Its power of balancing itself in the ail' ... . 356 



THE KITE, OR VULTURE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The word Dayah and its signification — Dayah a collective term for different 
species of Kites — The Common or Red Kite plentiful in Palestine — Its piercing 
sight and habit of soaring — The Black Kite of Palestine and its habits — The 
Egyptian Kite — The Raah or Glede of Scripture — The Buzzards and their 
habits — The Peregrine Falcon an inhabitant of Central Palestine, and the 
Lanner of the eastern parts of the country 357 



THE HAWK. 

The Netz or Hawk — Number of species probably grouped under that name — Rare 
occurrence of the word — The Sparrow- Hawk and its general habits — Its place 
of nesting — The Kestrel, or Wind-hover — Various names by which it is known 
in England — Its mode of feeding and curious flight — The Hariers — Probable 
derivation of the name — Species of Hariers known to inhabit Palestine — 

Falconry apparently unknown to the am ient Jews 364 

1 



XVU1 CONTENTS. 



THE OWL. 



The words which have been- translated as " Owl " — The 06s, or Little Owl Use 

made of the Little Owl in bird-catching — Habits of the bird — The Barn, 
Screech, or White Owl a native of Palestine — The Yanshuph, or Egyptian 
Eagle Owl — Its food and nest — The Lilith, or Night Monster — Various 
interpretations of the word — The Kippoz probably identical with the Scops 
Owl, or Marouf 370 



THE NIGHT-HAWK. 

Different interpretations of the word Tachmds — Probability that it signifies the 
Nightjar — Various names of the bird — Its remarkable jarring cry, and wheel- 
ing flight — Mode of feeding — Boldness of the bird — Deceptive appearance of 
its size 377 



THE SWALLOW. 

Identification of the smaller birds — Oriental indifference to natural history — Use 
of collective terms — The Swallow— Signification of the word Deror — The Bird 
of Liberty — Swallows and Swifts — The Sunbirds and Bee-eaters — Variety of 
small birds found in Palestine — The Swallows of Palestine — Swallows pro- 
tected by man in various countries — Nesting of the Swallow — The Rufous 
Swallow and Martin — The Sis or Swift — Various species of Swift inhabiting 
the Holy Land — Talmudical notions of the Swift or Swallow — The leper 
and his offering — The cooking pot and the sacrificial vessel — Signification 
of the word Tzippor-derer 381 



THE HOOPOE, OR LAPWING OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Dukiphath of Scripture— Various interpretations of the word — The 
Hoopoe — Its beauty and ill reputation— The unpleasant odour of its nest — 
Food of the Hoopoe — Its beautiful nest, and remarkable gestures — A curious 
legend of Solomon and the Hoopoe 392 



THE SPARROW. 

Signification of the word Tzippor — The bird used for the leper's sacrifice — The 
Sparrow upon the house-top — Architecture of the East — Proclamation from 
the house-tops— The Blue Thrush, its appearance and habits — Little birds 
exposed for sale-in the market — The two Sparrows sold for a farthing — Bird- 
catching— The net, the snare, and the trap — The Sparrow that builds her nest 
in the Temple— The Tree Sparrow — Various Sparrows that inhabit Palestine- 
Birds kept in cages 395 




CONTENTS. XIX 



THE CUCKOO. 

The Cuckoo only twice mentioned in Scripture — Difficulty of identifying the 
Shachaph — The common species, and the Great Spotted Cuckoo — Deposit- 
ing the egg — Conjectures respecting the Shachaph — Etymology of the word— 
The various gulls, and other sea-birds 405 



THE DOVE. 

Parallel between the lamb and the Dove — Derivation of the Hebrew word 
Yondh The Dove and the olive branch — Abram's sacrifice, and its acceptance 
— The sacrifice according to the law of Moses — The Dove-sellers of the 
Temple — Talniudical zoology — The story of Ilisch — The Dove and the raven 
— The Dove a type of Israel — The Beni-yonah, or Sons of Pigeons — Home, 
finding instinct of the pigeon — The Oriental Dove-cotes — Voice of the 
Dove — Its strength of wing — The Dove's dung of Samaria — Various pigeons 
of Palestine — The Rock Dove and its multitudes — The Dove and the Griffon 
-The Turtle Doves of Palestine, and their appearance and habits . . 408 



POULTRY. 

Poultry plentiful in Palestine at the present day — The Domestic Fowl unknown 
in the early times of Israel — The eating and gathering of eggs — References to 
Poultry in the New Testament — The egg and the scorpion — The fatted fowl of 
Solomon — The hen brooding over her eggs — Poultry prohibited within Jeru- 
salem — The cock-crowing 421 



THE PEACOCK. 

The foreign curiosities imported by Solomon — The word Tuceiyim and its various 
interpretations — Identity of the word with the Cingalese name of the Peacock 
— Reasons why the Peacock should have been brought to Solomon — Its sub- 
sequent neglect and extirpation 425 



THE PARTRIDGE. 

The word Kore and its signification — The Partridge upon the mountains — David's 
simile — The Desert Partridge and its habits — Hunting the Partridge with 
sticks — Eggs of the Partridge — A disputed reading, and probable signification 
"f the passage — Egg-hunting in Palestine — The various species of Partridge — 
The Francolin and the Sand-grouse 42C 



XX CONTENTS. 



THE QUAIL. 

Signification of the word Seldv — Various passages in which the word is men- 
tioned — The locust, the stork, and the sand-grouse — Spreading the birds 
around the camp — Migration of the Quail — Drying the Quails for food — Modes 
of catching the Quail in the East — The Quail-hunters of Northern Africa — 
Quarrelsome nature of the bird — Quail-fighting in the East — How the Quails 
were brought to the Israelites 430 



THE RAVEN. 

Signification of the word Orel — The Raven tribe plentiful in Palestine — The 
Raven and the dove — Elijah and the Ravens — Various explanations of the 
circumstance — Feeding the young Ravens — Luis of Grenada's sermon — The 
white Raven of ancient times — An old legend — Reference to the blackness 
of the Raven's plumage — Desert-loving habits of the Raven — Its mode of 
attacking the eye — Notions of the old commentators — Ceremonial use of the 
Raven — Return of the Ravens— Cunning of the bird — Nesting-places of the 
Raven — The magpie and its character — The starling— Its introduction into 
Palestine — The Rabbi perplexed — Solution of the difficulty 439 



THE OSTRICH. 

lebrew words designating the Ostrich— -Description of the bird in the Book of Job 
— Ancient use of Ostrich plumes — Supposed heedlessness of eggs and young — 
Mode of depositing the eggs — Hatching them in the sand — Natural enemies 
of the Ostrich — Anecdote of Ostriches and their young — Alleged stupidity of 
the Ostrich — Methods of hunting and snaring the bird — The Ostrich in 
domestication — Speed of the Ostrich — The flesh of the bird prohibited to the 
Jews — Ostrich eggs and their uses — Food of the Ostrich — Mode of drinking— 
Cry of the Ostrich, and reference made to it in Micah 4o0 



THE BITTERN. 

Signification of the word Kippod — The Bittern a-nd its general appearance — The 
bird of solitude — Difficulty of detecting the Bittern in its haunts — Mudie's 
description of the Bittern and its heme — The strange cry of the bird — Super- 
stitions connected with it — The Night-raven — Nest of the Bittern — Scarcity 
of the bird at the present day — Food of the Bittern — The bird formerly brought 
to table 462 



THE HERON. 

The Heron mentioned as an unclean bird — The Heron used for food in England, 
and considered as a delicacy — Sociable character of the bird, and its mode of 
feeding — Its enormous appetite — How the Heron fights— Ancient falconry — 



CONTENTS. xx i 

Nesting of the Heron — The papyrus marshes and their dangers — Description of 
the papyrus — Vessels of bulrushes — The Egret ami its beautiful plumage — 
Uses of the train feathers 468 



THE CRANE. 

Various passages in which the Crane is mentioned — Its migratory habits and loud 
voice — Geographical range of the Crane — The bird once plentiful in the fen 
districts of England — Its favourite roosting-places — Size of the Crane, and 
measurement of the wiugs — The Crane once used as food — Plumes of the Crane 
and their use — Structure of the vocal organs — Nest and eggs of the Crane. 474 



THE STORK. 

Signification of the Hebrew word Chasidah — Various passages in which it is 
mentioned — The Chasidah therefore a large, wide-winged, migratory bird — Its 
identification with the Stork — Derivation of its Hebrew name — The Stork 
always protected — Uses of the tail — Its mode of quartering the ground in 
search of food — Migratory habits of the Stork — Nesting of the bird, and its 
favourite localities — The fir-trees of Palestine — Love of the Stork for its 
young 478 



THE SWAN. 

Signification of the word Tinshemeth — The Gallinule and the Ibis — Appear- 
ance and habits of the Hyacinthine Gallinule — A strange use for the bird — 
The "White or Sacred Ibis — The bird mentioned by Herodotus — The Glossy 
Ibis, or Black Ibis — Veneration with which the bird was regarded . . . 485 



THE CORMORANT. 

The word Shdldk and its signification — The Greek Catarrhaetes — Habits of the 
Cormorant — The bird trained to catch fish — Mode of securing its prey — Nests 
a»d eggs of the Cormorant — Nesting in fir-trees — Flesh of the bird . . 49C 



THE PELICAN. 

THe Pelican of the wilderness — Attitudes of the bird — Its love of solitude — 
Derivation of the Hebrew word — Fantastic interpretation — Mode of feeding 
the young — Fables regarding the Pelican — Breeding-places of the bird — The 
object of its wide wings and large pouch — Colour of the Pelican . . . 495 



XX11 CONTENTS. 



KEPTILES. 



THE TORTOISE. 

Reptiles in general — Looseness of the term "creeping things" — The Tzab of the 
Scriptures, translated as Tortoise — Flesh and eggs of the Tortoise — Its slow 
movements — Hibernation dependent on temperature — The Water-Tortoises — 
Their food and voracity — Their eggs — Their odour terrifying the horses — The 
Dhubb lizard and its legends — Its armed tail, and the use made of it — Its 
food, and localities which it prefers 505 



THE LEVIATHAN, OR CROCODILE. 

Signification of the word Leviathan — Description in the Book of Job — Structure 
and general habits of the Crocodile — The throat-valve and its use — Position 
of the nostrils — Worship of the Crocodile — The reptile known in the Holy 
Land — Two legends respecting its presence there— Mode of taking prey- 
Cunning of the Crocodile — The baboons and the Crocodile — Speed of the 
reptile — Eggs and young of the Crocodile, and their enemies — Curious story 
of the ichneumon and ibis — Modes of capturing the Crocodile — Analysis of 
Job's description — The Crocodile also signified by the word Tannin. Aaron's 
rod changed into a Tannin — Various passages in which the word occurs — 
Use of the word by the Prophet Jeremiah 514 



THE LETAAH OR LIZARD. 

Difficulty of identifying the Letaah — Probability that it is a collective and not a 
specific term — Various Lizards of Palestine — The Green or Jersey Lizard — The 
Cyprius, its appearance and habits — The Glass Snake or Scheltopusic — Trans- 
lation of the word C hornet — l'robability that it signifies the Skink — Medicinal 
uses of the Lizard — The >eps tribe — The common Cicigna, and the popular 
belief concerning its habits — The Sphsenops and its- shallow tunnel . . . 52S 



THE CHAMELEON, MONITOR, AND GECKO. 

Translation of the word Koack — Signification of the word, and its applicability to 
the Chameleon— Power of the reptile's grasp— The prehensile tail — Demeanour 
of the Chameleon on the ground— The independent eyes— Its frequent change 
of colour— Mode of taking prey — Strange notions respecting the Chameleon — 
The Monitor, or Land Crocodile— Its habits and use to mankind— The Nilotic 
Monitor, and itd habit of destroying the eggs and young of the Crocodile— 
The Gecko or Ferret of Scripture - . . 534 



CONTENTS. XX111 



SERPENTS, 

Serpents in general — Signification of the Hebrew word Nachash — Various passages 
in which the Nachash is mentioned — The fiery Serpents of the wilderness — 
Explanation of the words " flying " and " fiery " as applied to Serpents — Haunts 
of the Serpent — The Cobra, or Asp of Scripture — Meaning of the word Pcthen 
— The deaf Adder that stoppeth her ear — Serpent-charming in the East — Prin- 
ciple on which the charmers work — Sluggishness of the Serpent nature — 
Ceremony of initiation into Serpent-charming — Theories respecting the deaf 
Adder — Luis of Grenada's sermon — The Cerastes, or Horned Serpent — Appear- 
ance and habits of the reptile — The ''Adder in the path" 540 



THE VIPER, OR EPHEH. 

Passages in which the word Ephch occurs— El-effah — The Sand Viper, or Toxicoa 
— Its appearance and habits — The Acshub — Adder's poison — The Spuugh- 
Slange — The Cockatrice, or Tsepha — The Yellow Viper — Ancient ideas con- 
cerning the Cockatrice — Power of its venom 552 



THE FROG. 

The Frog only mentioned in the Old Testament as connected with the plagues of 
Egypt — The severity of this plague explained — The Frog detestable to the 
Egyptians — The Edible Frog and its numbers — Description of the Species. 557 



FISHES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Impossibility of distinguishing the different species of fishes — The fishermen 
Apostles — Fish used for food — The miracle of the loaves and Kishes — The Fish 
broiled on the coals — Clean and unclean Fishes — The scientific writings of 
Solomon — The Sheat-fish, or Silurus — The Eel and the Mursena — The Long- 
headed Barbel — Fish-ponds and preserves — The Fish-ponds of Heshbon — The 
Sucking-fish — The Lump-sucker — The Tunny — The Coryphene . . . 563 



CHAPTEK II. 

Various modes of capturing Fish — The hook aud line — Military use of the hook- 
Putting a hook in the jaws — The fishing spear — Different kinds of net — The 
casting net — Prevalence of this form — Technical words among fishermen — 
Fishing by night— The draught of Fishes — The real force of the miracle — 
Selecting the Fish — The Fish-gate and Fish-market — Fish killed by a draught 
—Fishing in the Dead Sea — Dagon, the fish-god of Philistina, Assyria, and 
Siani — Various Fishes of Egypt and Palestine 571 



XXIV CONTENTS. 



INVERTERKATES. 



MOLLUSCS. 

The purple of Scripture — Various Molluscs from which it is obtained — The 
common Dog-whelk of England — The sac containing the purple dye — Curious 
change of colour — Mode of obtaining the dye — The Tyrian purple — The king 
of the Ethiopians and the purple robe — The professional purple dyers — 
Various words expressive of different shades of purple — Care taken to keep 
the preparation of the dye secret 586 

THE SNAIL. 

The Snail which melteth — Rendering of the Jewish Bible — Theory respecting 
the track of the Snail — The Hebrew word Shablul— Various Snails oi 
Palestine 589 

THE ONYCHA. 

Ingredients of the sacred incense — The Onyx, or Onycha — Derivation of the 
word — The Arabic Dofr — The Doofu of Abyssinia — Odour of the perfume 590 



THE PEAKL. 

The Pearl of Scripture — Wisdom compared to Pearl — Different renderings of the 
Hebrew word — Opinions of the Talmudists — Structure of Pearls — The Pearls 
of the marine and aquatic mussels — Pearl-fisheries of the Conway — Meta- 
phorical uses of the Pearl — The Pearl of great price—Casting Pearls before 
swine — An ancient proverb 592 

INSECTS. 

Insects — Beetles not mentioned in Scripture — The Locust — Various species of the 
insect, and different words used to signify it — The Arbeb of Scripture, and its 
derivation — The two migratory Locusts at rest and on the wing — The Locust 
swarms — Gordon Cumming's account — Progress of the insect hosts — Vain 
attempts to check them — Tossed up and down as a Locust — Effect of the winds 
on the insect — The east and the west winds— Locusts used for food — Ancient 
and modern travellers — The food of St. John 596 



THE LEE. 

The Hebrew word Dcbdrah — The Honey Bee of Palestine — Abundance of Bees in 
the Holy Land — Habitations of the wild Bee — Hissing for the Bee — Bees in 
dead carcase9 — The honey of Scripture — Domesticated Bees and their hives — 
Stores of wild honey — The story of Jonathan — The Crusaders and the honey — 
Butter and honey — Oriental sweetmeats — The Dibs, or grape-honey, and mode 
of preparation — Wax, its use as a metaphor 605 



CONTENTS. XZV 



THE HORNET. 

The Tzirah or Hornet of Scripture — Travellers driven away by Hornets — The 
Hornet, used as a metaphor — Oriental symbolism — The Talmudical writers — 
Sting of the Hornet 613 



THE ANT. 

The Ant of Scripture — Solomon's allusion to the Ant — Habit of aying up stores 
of food — A controversy respecting the Ant — The Ants of Palestine, and their 
habits — The Agricultural or Mound-making Ant — Preparing ground, sowing, 
tending, reaping, and storing the crop — Different habits of Ante — Development 
of the insect — The winged Ants — An Arab proverb 616 



THE CRIMSON WORM. 

The scarlet or crimson of Scripture — Signification of the word Tolddth — The 
Coccus or Cochineal of Palestine compared with that of Mexico — Differ- 
ence between the sexes — Mode of preparing the insect — The Arabic word 
Kermes 622 



THE CLOTHES MOTH. 

The Moth of Scripture evidently the Clothes Moth — The Sas and the 'Ash — 
Similitude between the Hebrew sds and the Greek ses — Moths and garments — 
Accumulation of clothes in the East- -Various uses of the hoarded robes — The 
Moths, the rust, and the thief 624 



THE SILKWORM MOTH. 

Various passages wherein Silk is mentioned — The virtuous woman and her 
household — Probability that the Hebrews were acquainted with Silk — Present 
cultivation of the Silkworm — The Silk-farms of the Lebanon — Signification 
of the word Mcshi — Silkworms and thunder — Luis of Grenada's sermon 
— The Hebrew word Gazom, and its signification — The Palmer-worm of 
Scripture 627 



ELLES. 

Flies of Scripture — Dead Flies and the apothecary's ointment — Gadflies and 
their attacks — Annoyance caused by the House-fly — Flies and ophthalmia 
— Signer Pierotti's account of the Flies — The sovereign remedy against Flies 
— Causes of their prevalence ^32 



XiVl CONTENTS. 



GNATS. 



The Gnat of Scripture — Straining out the Gnat and swallowing the camel, a 
typographical error —Probable identity of the Gnat and the mosquito . .635 

THE LOUSE. 

Insect parasites — The plague of Lice — Its effect on the magicians or priests— The 
Hebrew word Chinnim — Probability that it may be represented by " tick " — 
Habits of the ticks, their dwellings in dust, and their effects on man and 
beast 636 



THE FLEA. 

Prevalence of the Flea in the East, and the annoyance caused by them to tra- 
vellers — Fleas of the Lebanon — The Bey's bedfellows — The Pasha at the bath 
— Use of the word in Scripture . . 638 

THE SCORPION. 

The Scorpions of Palestine — Signification of the word Akrabbim — Habits of the 
Scorpion — Dangers of mud walls — Venom of the Scorpion — Scorpions at sea — 
The Scorpion whip, and its use — The Scorpion Pass 640 



THE SPIDER. 

Signification of the word Semamith — Various interpretations of a Scriptural 
passage — Talmudical opinions respecting the creature — The 'Akkabish and its 
web— Spiders of Palestine 643 

THE WORM. 

Various words translated as " Worm " — Probable confusion of the words — The 
Rimmah and the Tole'ah — The "Worm which destroyed Jonah's gourd — The 
Earthworm ' 644 

THE HORSE LEECH. 

Signification of the word Alukah — The Arabic word — Leeches in Palestine —The 
horse and the Leech — Leeches in England 646 



SPONGE AND CORAL. 

Use of the Sponge in Scripture — Probability that the ancient Jews were acquainted 
with it— Sponges of the Mediterranean— The Coral, and its value— Signification 
of the word Ramoth 647 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FULL- PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, 

The Ostrich and its Hunters. (Job xxxix. 19) 
The Lion and ins Den. (Ezek. xix. 2) .... 
Dogs prowling at Night. (Psa. lix. 14^. 
The Badger and its Home. (Exod. xxvi. 14) . . 
Bears descending from the Hills. (Prov. xxviii. ] 
Oxen bearing the Yoke. (Lam. iii. 27) . . . 
Sheep and their Shepherd and Fold. (Psa. xxiii. 
Goats wounded by Lion. (Amos iii. 12) .... 
The Hind and her Young. (Job xxxix. 1) . . . 
Camels and their Burdens. (Isa. xxx. 6) . . . 
The War Horse going to Battle, (.lob xxxix. 25) 
Wild Asses and the Hunters. (Job xxxix. 5—8) 
The Wild Boar in the Vineyard. (Psa. !\xx. 13) 
Elephants in a Forest. (Ezek. xxvii. 15) . 
The Hippopotamus or Behemoth. (Job xl. 21) 
Vultures and their Prey. (Matt. xxiv. 28) 
The Eagle and its Nest. (Job xxxix. 27) 
The Osprey and its Haunts. (Deut. xiv. 1 
The Owl among Ruins. (Job xxx. 29) . 

Peacocks. (1 Kings x. 22) 

The Bittern and its Home. (Isa. xiv. 23) 
The Stork in the Fib-trees. (Psa. civ. 17.) 
The Crocodile or Leviathan. (Job xli. 7) 
Locusts on the March. (Exod. x. 5) . . 



PAGE 

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250 
282 
300 
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354 
356 
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466 
482 
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600 



ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. 

PAGE 

The Rhesus and Entellus. (1 Kings x. 22) 3 

The Wanderoo . . .6 

Bats in their Cave. (Levit. xi. 19) . . . 17 

The Leopard by the Way. (Hos. xiii. 7j 30 

The Wolf among the Shee;\ (John x. 12) 51 

Jackals and the Scapegoat. (Psa. lxiii. 10) 56 

Hyenas and Vultures. (Ezek. xxix 5) 65 

The Hedgehog. (Isa. xxxiv. 11) , 81 



XXV111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGU 

The Mole-Rat. (Levit. xi. 30) 87 

Field-Mice among Corn. (1 Sara. vi. 5) 93 

Syrian Harks. (Deut. xiv. 7) 97 

Oxen Treading out Corn. (Deut. xxv. 4) 107 

The Buffalo. (Amos vi. 12) 114 

The Wild Bull, or Oryx. (Isa li. 21) 119 

The Unicorn, or Bison. (Job xxxix. 9) 132 

Gazelles upon the Mountains. (Cant, ii 8) 136 

The Pygarg, oh Addax. (Deut. xiv. 4) . 142 

The Fallow-Deer, or Bubale, (1 Kings iv. 23) 145 

Sheep led to Pasture. (John x. 3) 154 

The Ram's Horn Trumpet. (Josh. vi. 4) 175 

The Place of Sacrifice on Mount Gerizlm 181 

The Chamois, or Aoudad. (Deut. xiv. 4, 5) 187 

Goats divided from Sheep. (Matt. xxv. 52) 199 

The Wild Goat, or Ibex. (Psa. cxiv. 18) 206 

The Hind, or Fallow-Deer. (Cant. ii. 7) . . 209 

The Dromedary and its Rider. (Jer. ii. 23) 231 

The Camel and the "Needle's Eye." (Matt. xix. 24) 243 

Bactrian Camels harnessed. (Lsa. xxi. 7) 246 

The War Chariot of Egypt. (Jer. xlvi. 9) 261 

The State Chariot of Assyria. (Jer. xvii. 25) 262 

Syrian Asses. (Pro v. xxvi. 3) 269 

Mules and their Driver. (Psa. xxxii. 9) 287 

Conies among the Rocks. (Prov. xxx. 26) 313 

The Hippopotamus in the River. (Job xl. 21) 325 

The Hippopotamus and Trap. (Job xl. 24) ... 328 

The Ossifrage, or Lammergeier. (Deut. xiv. 12) 334 

The Gier-Eagle, or Egyptian Vulture. (Deut. xiv. 17) 340 

The Vulture, or Kite. (Job xxviii. 7) 358 

The Glede, or Peregrine Falcon. (Dent. xiv. 13) 361 

The Lanner Falcon 363 

The Hawk, or Kestrel. (Job xxxix. 26) 366 

The Little Owl. (Psa. cii 6) 372 

The Night-Hawk. (Deut. xiv. 15) 378 

The Swallow and Swift. (Jer. viii. 7) 385 

The Lapwing, or Hoopoe. (Levit. xi. 19) 393 

The Sparrow, or Blue Thrush. (Psa- cii. 7) 3'.'9 

The Sparrow, or Tree Sparrow. (Psa. lxxxiv. 3) . 403 

The Cuckoo. (Levit. xi. 16) 406 

The Rock Dove. (Cant. ii. 14) 416 

The Turtle Dove. (Cant. ii. 12) 420 

Poultry. (Luke xiii. 34) 423 

The Partridge on the Mountains. (L Sam. xxvi. 20) 428 

The Quail. (Psa. cv. 40) 43] 

The Raven. (Job xxxviii. 41) . . . 441 

The Ostrich and its Eggs. (Job xxxix. 14) 454 

The Bittern, (isa. xiv. 23) 463 

The Heron. (Deut. xi. 19) 469 

The Crane. (Lsa. xxxviii. 14) 475 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XXIX 

PAOX 

The Swan or Ibis, or Gallinule. (Dent. xiv. 16) 486 

The Pelican of the Wilderness (P.sa. cii. 6) 496 

The Tortoise and Dhcbb. (Levit. xi. 29) 507 

The Lizard, or Cyprius. (Levit. xi. 30) 530 

The Chamelon and the Gecko. (Levit. xi. 30) 535 

The Asp and the Adder, or the Cobra and the Cerastes. (Psa. 

lviii. 4; Gen. xlix. 17) 542 

The Viper, or Toxicoa. (Job xx. 16) 553 

The Frog. (Exod. viii. 3) 558 

Fishes — Mur^na, Barbel, and Sheat-fish. (Levit. xi. 10) ... . 566 
Fishes— Sucking-fish, Tunny, and Coryphene. (Levit. x. 9) ... 569 
Fishes — Lates, Mullus, and Uranoscopus. (Numb. xi. 5) . . . . 582 

The Pearl Oyster. (Matt. xiii. 45) 594 

The Bee. (Isa. vii. 19) 606 

The Hornet (Exod. xxiii. 28) 614 

The Ant. (Prov. vi. 6) 621 

The Crimson Worm, or Cochineal, (isa. i. 18) 623 

Butterflies and Caterpillars of Palestine. (Joel i. 4) 631 

Flies. (Isa. vii. 18) 635 

The Scorpion. (Rev. ix. 10) 641 

The Coral. (Job xxviii. 18) 648 



MAMMALIA. 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE APE. 



The Monkey tribe rarely mentioned in Scripture — Why the Ape was introduced 
into Palestine — Solomon's ships, and their cargo of Apes, peacocks, ivory and 
gold — Various species of Monkey that might have been imported — The Rhesus 
Monkey — The Hoonuman or Entellus — Habits of the Monkey, and reverence 
in which it is held by the natives — The Egyptians and their Baboon worship— 
Idols and memorials — The Wanderoo — its singular aspect — Eeasons why it 
should be introduced into Palestine — General habits of the "Wanderoo — its love 
of curiosities — Probability that Solomon had a menagerie — Various species of 
Monkey that may be included in the term " Kophim" — The Satyr of Scripture 
— Babylon in its glory and fall — Fulfilment of prophecy — Judaic ideas of the 
Satyrs, or Seirim. 

Animals belonging to the monkey tribe are but sparingly 
mentioned in Holy Writ. If, as is possible, the Satyr of 
Scripture signifies some species of baboon, there are but three 
passages either in the Old or New Testament where these 
animals are mentioned. In 1 Kings x. 22, and the parallel 
passage 2 Chron. ix. 21, the sacred historian makes a passing 
allusion to apes as forming part of the valuable cargoes which 
were brought by Solomon's fleet to Tharshish, the remaining 
articles being gold, ivory, and peacocks. The remaining passage 
occurs in Is. xiii. 21, where the prophet foretells that on the 
site of Babylon satyrs shall dance. 

The reason for this reticence is simple enough. No monkey 
was indigenous to Palestine when the various writers of the 
Bible lived, and all their knowledge of such animals must have 
been derived either from the description of sailors, or from the 
sight of the few specimens that were brought as curiosities from 
foreign lands. Such specimens must have been extremely rare. 
or they would not have been mentioned as adjuncts to the 



2 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

wealth of Solomon, the wealthiest, as well as the wisest monarch 
of his time. To the mass of the people they must have been 
practically unknown, and therefore hold but a very inferior place 
in the Scriptures, which were addressed to all mankind. 

There is scarcely any familiar animal, bird, reptile or insect, 
which is not used in some metaphorical sense in the imagery 
which pervades the whole of the Scriptures. For example, 
the various carnivorous animals, such as the lion, wolf, and 
bear, are used as emblems of destruction in various ways ; while 
the carnivorous birds, such as the eagle and hawk, and the 
destructive insects, such as the locust and the caterpillar, are 
all similarly employed in strengthening and illustrating the 
words of Holy Writ. 

But we never find any animal of the monkey tribe mentioned 
metaphorically, possibly because any monkeys that were im- 
ported into Palestine must only have been intended as objects of 
curiosity, just as the peacocks which accompanied them were 
objects of beauty, and the gold and ivory objects of value — all 
being employed in the decoration of the king's palace. 

The question that now comes before us is the species of 
monkey that is signified by the Hebrew word Kophim. In 
modern days, we distinguish this tribe of animals into three 
great sections, namely, the apes, the baboons, and the monkey ; 
and according to this arrangement the ape, being without tails, 
must have been either the chimpanzee of Africa, the orang-outan 
of Sumatra, or one of the Gibbons. But there is no reason to 
imagine that the word Kophim was intended to represent any 
one of these animals, and it seems evident that the word was 
applied to any species of monkey, whether it had a tail or not. 

Perhaps the best method of ascertaining approximately the 
particular species of monkey, is to notice the land from which 
the animals came. Accordingly, we find that the ships of 
Solomon brought gold, ivory, apes, and peacocks, and that they 
evidently brought their cargoes from the same country. Conse- 
quently, the country in question must produce gold, and must be 
inhabited by the monkey tribe, by the elephant, and by the 
peacock. If the peacock had not been thus casually mentioned, 
we should have been at a loss to identify the particular country 
to which reference is made ; but the mention of that bird shows 
that some part of Asia must be signified. It is most probable 



THE APE. 6 

that the vessels in question visited both India and Ceylon, 
although, owing to the very imperfect geographical knowledge 
of the period, it is not possible to assert absolutely that this is 
the case. In India, however, and the large island of Ceylon, 
gold, elephants, peacocks, and monkeys exist ; and therefore we 
will endeavour to identify the animals which are mentioned 
under the general term Apes, or Kophim. 




THE RHESLS AND ENTELLUS. 

" bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes." — 1 Kings x. 22. 



We are quite safe in suggesting that some of the apes in 
question must have belonged to the Macaques, and it is most 
likely that one of them was the Rhesus, or Bhunder, scien- 
tifically named Macacus Rhesus. 

This animal is very plentiful in India, and is one of the many 
creatures which are held sacred by the natives. Consequently, 
it takes up its quarters near human habitations, feeling sure that 
it will not be injured, and knowing that plenty of food is at, 
hand. It is said that in some parts of India the natives always 
have one- tenth of their grain-crops for the monkeys, and thns 



4 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the animals content themselves with this offering, and refrain 
from devastating the fields, as they would otherwise do. This 
story may be true or not. It is certainly possible that in a long 
series of years the monkeys of that neighbourhood have come to 
look upon their tithe as a matter belonging to the ordinary 
course of things ; but whether it be true or not, it illustrates the 
reverence entertained by the Hindoos for their monkeys. 

In many places where grain and fruit crops are cultivated, the 
monkeys get rather more than their share, plundering without 
scruple, and finding no hindrance from the rightful owners, who 
dare not drive them away, lest they should injure any of these 
sacred beings. However, being unmindful of the maxim, " qui 
facit per alium, facit per se," they are only too glad to avail 
themselves of the assistance of Europeans, who have no scruples 
on the subject. Still, although they are pleased to see the 
monkeys driven off, and their crops saved, they would rather 
lose all their harvest than allow a single monkey to be killed, 
and in the earlier years of our Indian colony, several riots took 
place between the natives and the English, because the latter 
had killed a monkey through ignorance of the reverence in 
which it was held. 

Another monkey which may probably have been brought to 
Palestine from India is the Hocxnuman, Entellus, or Makur, 
which is more reverenced by the Hindoos than any other 
species. Its scientific title is Presbytes entellus. In some parts of 
India it is worshipped as a form of divinity, and in all it is 
reverenced and protected to such an extent that it becomes a 
positive nuisance to Europeans who are not influenced by the 
same superstitious ideas as those which are so prevalent in 
India, Being a very common species, it could easily be 
captured, especially if, as is likely to be the case, it was fearless 
of man through long immunity from harm. The sailors who 
manned Solomon's navy would not trouble themselves about the 
sacred character of the monkeys, but would take them without 
the least scruple wherever they could be found. 

The Hoonuman would also be valued by them on account of 
its docility when taken young, and the amusing tricks which it 
is fond of displaying in captivity as well as in a state of 
freedom. Moreover, it is rather a pretty creature, the general 
colour being yellowish, and the face black. 



THE APE. 5 

Perfectly aware of the impunity with which they are per- 
mitted to act, these monkeys prefer human habitations to the 
forests which form the natural home of their race, and crowd 
into the villages and temples, the latter being always swarming 
with the long-tailed host. As is the case with the Ehesus, the. 
Hoonuman monkeys are much too fond of helping themselves 
from the shops and stalls, and if they can find a convenient roof, 
will sit there and watch for the arrival of tne most dainty 
fruits. 

However, the natives, superstitious as they are, and unwilling 
to inflict personal injury on a monkey, have no scruple in 
making arrangements by which a monkey that trespasses on 
forbidden spots will inflict injury on itself. They may not shoot 
or wound in any way the monkeys which cluster on their roofs, 
and the animals are so perfectly aware of the fact, that they 
refuse to be driven away by shouts and menacing gestures. 
But, they contrive to make the roofs so uncomfortable by cover- 
ing them with thorns, that the monkeys are obliged to quit their 
points of vantage, and to choose some spot where they can sit 
down without fear of hurting themselves. 

That the Hindoos should pay homage almost divine to a 
monkey, does seem equally absurd and contemptible. But, 
strange as this superstition maybe, and the more strange because 
the intellectual powers of the educated Hindoos are peculiarly 
subtle and penetrating, it was shared by a greater, a mightier, 
and a still more intellectual race, now extinct as a nation. The 
ancient Egyptians worshipped the baboon, and ranked it among 
the most potent of their deities ; and it can but strike us with 
wonder when we reflect that a people who couid erect buildings 
perfectly unique in the history of the world, who held the fore- 
most place in civilization, who perfected arts which we, at a 
distance of three thousand years, have only just learned, should 
pay divine honours to monkeys, bulls, and snakes. Such, 
however, was the case ; and we find that the modern Hindoo 
shows as great reverence for the identical animals as did the 
Egyptian when Pharaoh was king, and Joseph his prime 
minister. 

It is said by some, that neither the Egyptian of the ancient 
times, nor the Hindoo of the present day, actually worshipped 
these creatures, but that they reverenced them as external signs 



6 



BIBLE AMMALS. 



of some attribute of God. Precisely the same remarks have 
been made as to the worship of idols, and it is likely enough 
that the highly educated among the worshippers did look upon a 
serpent merely as an emblem of divine wisdom, a bull as an 
image of divine strength, and a monkey as an external memorial 
of the promised incarnation of divinity So with idols, which to 
the man of educated and enlarged mind were nothing but visible 
symbols employed for the purpose of directing the mind in 




PHE WANUKKi' 



worship. But, though this was the case with the educated and 
intellectual, the ignorant and uncultivated, who compose the 
great mass of a nation, did undoubtedly believe that both the 
living animal and the lifeless idol were themselves divine, and 
did worship them accordingly. 

There is one species of monkey, which is extremely likely 
to have been brought to Palestine, and used for the adorn- 
ment of a luxurious monarch's palace. This is the Wanderoo, 
or Nil-Bhunder (SUenus veter). The Wanderoo, or Ouanderoo, 
as the name is sometimes spelled, is a very conspicuous animal, 



THE APE. 7 

on account of the curious mane that covers its neck and head, 
and the peculiarly formed tail, which is rather long and tufted, 
like that of a baboon, and has caused it to be ranked among 
those animals by several writers, under the name of the Lion- 
tailed Baboon. That part of the hairy mass which rolls over the 
head is nearly black, but as it descends over the shoulders, it 
assumes a greyer tinge, and in some specimens is nearly white, 
reminding the observer of the huge wigs which were so pre- 
valent in the time of Charles II, or of the scarcely less enormous 
head-dresses with which our judges are decorated. As is the 
case with many animals, the mane is not seen in the young 
specimens, and increases in size with age, only reaching its full 
dimensions when the animal has attained adult age. Moreover, 
the grey hue belongs exclusively to the elder monkeys, and only 
in the oldest specimens is the full, white, venerable, wig-like 
mane to be seen in perfection. 

In captivity, the general demeanour of this monkey corre- 
sponds with its grave and dignified aspect. It seems to be 
more sedate than the ordinary monkeys, to judge from the 
specimens which have lived in the Zoological Gardens, and sits 
peering with its shiny brown eyes out of the enormous mane, 
with as much gravity as if it were really a judge deciding an im- 
portant case in law. Not that it will not condescend to the little 
tricks and playful sallies for which the monkeys are so cele- 
brated ; but it soon loses the vivacity of youth, and when full- 
grown, presents as great a contrast to its former vivacity, as does 
a staid full-grown cat sitting by the fire, to the restless, lively, 
playful kitten of three months old. During its growth, it can be 
taught to go through several amusing performances, but it has 
little of the quick, mercurial manner, which is generally found 
among the monkey tribe. 

The docility of the Wanderoo often vanishes together with its 
youth. The same animal may be gentle,, tractable, and teachable 
when young, and yet, when a few years have passed over its 
head and whitened its mane, may be totally obstinate and dull, 
refusing to perform the feats which it accomplished in its youth, 
or to learn others more suitable to its years. Consistent kind 
treatment will, however, have its effect upon the creature, but as 
a general rule, an old Wanderoo is apt to be a treacherous and 
spiteful animaL 



8 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The Datives of the country in which the Wanderoo lives, 
attribute to it the wisdom which its venerable aspect seems to 
imply, much as the ancient Athenians venerated the owl as 
the bird of wisdom, and the chosen companion of the learned 
Minerva. In many places, the Wanderoo is thought to be a sort 
of king among monkeys, and to enjoy the same supremacy 
over its maneless kinsfolk, that the king- vulture maintains over 
the other vultures which are destitute of the brilliant crest that 
marks its rank. 

I am induced to believe that the Wanderoo must have been 
one of the monkeys which were brought to Solomon, for two 
reasons. 

In the first place, it is a native both of India and Ceylon, and 
therefore might have formed an article of merchandise, together 
with the peacock, gold, and ivory. And if, as is extremely pro- 
bable, the Tharshish of the Scripture is identical with Ceylon, it 
is almost certain that the Wanderoo would have been brought to 
Solomon, in order to increase the glories of his palace. Sir 
Emerson Tennant points out very forcibly, that in the Tamil 
language, the words for apes, ivory, and peacocks, are identical 
with the Hebrew names for the same objects, and thus gives a 
very strong reason for supposing that Ceylon was the country 
from which Solomon's fleet drew its supplies. 

Another reason for conjecturing that the Wanderoo would 
have been one of the animals sent to grace the palace of 
Solomon is this. In the days when that mighty sovereign lived, 
as indeed has been the case in all partially civilized countries, the 
kings and rulers have felt a pride in collecting together the 
rarest objects which they could purchase, giving the preference to 
those which were in any way conspicuous, whether for intrinsic 
value, for size, for beauty, or for ugliness. Thus, giants, dwarfs, 
and deformed persons of either sex, and even idiots, were seen as 
regular attendants at the court, a custom which extended even 
into the modern history of this country, the " Fool " being an 
indispensable appendage to the train of every person of rank. 
Animals from foreign lands were also prized, and value was set 
upon them, not only for their variety, but for any external 
characteristic which would make them especially conspicuous. 

Ordinary sovereigns would make collections of such objects, 
simply because they were rare, and in accordance with the 



THE APE. 9 

general custom ; and in importing the " apes " and peacocks 
together with the gold and ivory, Solomon but followed the 
usual custom. He, however, on whom the gift of wisdom had 
been especially bestowed, would have another motive besides 
ostentation or curiosity. He was learned in the study of that 
science which we now call Natural History. It is, therefore, 
extremely probable, that he would not neglect any opportunities 
of procuring animals from distant lands, in order that he might 
study the products of countries which he had not personally 
visited, and it is not likely that so conspicuous an animal as the 
Wanderoo would have escaped the notice of those who provided 
the cargo for which so wealthy a king could pay, and for which 
they would demand a price proportionate to its variety. 

There is perhaps no monkey which is so conspicuous among 
its kin as the Wanderoo, and certainly no monkey or ape 
inhabiting those parts of the world to which the fleet of Solomon 
would have access. Its staid, sedate manners, its black body, 
lion-like tail, and huge white-edged mane, would distinguish it 
so boldly from its kinsfolk, that the sailors would use all their 
efforts to capture an animal for which they would be likely to 
obtain a high price. 

The peculiar and unique character of Solomon affords good 
reason for conjecture that, not only were several species of the 
monkey tribe included under the general word Kophim, but that 
the number of species must have been very large. An ordinary 
monarch would have been content with one or two species, and 
would probably have been perfectly satisfied if a number of 
monkeys had been brought from beyond seas, irrespective of 
distinction of species. But, if we consider the character of 
Solomon, we shall find that he would not have been content 
with such imperfect knowledge. We are told that he wrote 
largely of the various productions of the earth, and, to judge 
him by ourselves, it is certain that with such magnificent means 
at his command, he would have ransacked every country that 
his ships could visit, for the purpose of collecting materials for 
his works. It is therefore almost certain that under the word 
Kophim may be included all the most plentiful species of 
monkey which inhabit the countries to which his fleet had 
access, and that in his palace were collected together specimens 
of each monkey which has here been mentioned, besides many 



10 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

others of which no special notice need be taken, such as the 
Bonnet Monkeys, and other Macaques. 

We now come to the vexed question of the Satyrs, respecting 
which word great controversies have been raised. The Hebrew 
word Seirim merely signifies "hairy beings," and does not 
seem to be applied to any definite species of animal. Several 
scholars, therefore, translate the word by "wild goats," and 
instead of reading the passages (Is. xiii. 21, and xxxiv. 14) 
" Satyrs shall dance there," they read them, "The he-goats shall 
skip there." This is certainly an easier interpretation than that 
which is accepted in our translation, but whether it is more 
correct may be doubted. Moreover, the word " goat " would not 
convey the idea of utter desolation which the prophecy implied, 
and which has been so signally fulfilled in the Babylon of the 
present day. The vast palaces and temples have sunk into 
shapeless heaps of ruins, affording scarcely a trace by which the 
buildings can be identified. The many massive gates, for which 
the city was famous, have disappeared. The double lines of forti- 
fication are only to be distinguished by a few scattered mounds, 
while the wonderful palace of Nebuchadnezzar has left but a 
few shattered walls as relics of an edifice whose fame spread 
over the world. 

What precise animal was meant by the word Seirim cannot 
be ascertained, nor is it even certain whether the word signified 
any particular species at all. The ancient commentators identified 
Seirim with the semi-human creatures of mythology, known as 
Satyrs, and strengthened this opinion by a reference to Lev. xvii. 7, 
where the Israelites are warned against worshippiDg Seirim, or 
" devils " according to our translation. In common with all the 
civilized world, they fully believed that Satyrs were veritable 
inhabitants of the woods and deserts, with forms half man half 
goat, with powers more than human, and with passions below 
humanity. Of course we cannot now accept such an interpre- 
tation, but must grant, either that a mere metaphor of desolation 
was intended, or that the prophecy alluded to various wild 
animals that inhabit deserted places. Accept which interpretation 
we will, it is impossible to identify any particular animal with 
the " Satyr " of Isaiah, and therefore it will be better to decline 
giving any opinion on a subject which cannot be definitely 
explained. 



THE BAT. H 



THE BAT. 

The Bat mentioned always with abhorrence — Meaning of the Hebrew name —The 
prohibition against eating Bats — The edible species, their food and mode of 
life— The noisome character of'the Bat, and the nature of its dwelling place — 
its hatred of light— Baruch and his prophecy — Appropriateness of the pro- 
phecy — Singular Mahommedan legend respecting the original creation of the 
Bat- -The legend compared with the apocryphal gospels — The Bats of Palestine 
— Mr. Tristram's discoveries — Bats found in the quarries from which the stone 
of the Temple was hewn — Edible Bats in a cave near the centre of Palestine — 
Another species of long-tailed Bat captured in the rock caves where hermits 
had been buried - Other species which probably inhabit Palestine. 

Among the animals that are forbidden to be eaten by the 
Israelites we find the Bat prominently mentioned, and in one or 
two parts of Scripture the same creature is alluded to with 
evident abhorrence. In Isaiah ii. 20, for example, it is pro- 
phesied that when the day of the Lord comes, the worshippers 
of idols will try to hide themselves from the presence of the 
Lord, and will cast their false gods to the bats and the moles, 
both animals being evidently used as emblems of darkness and 
ignorance, and associated together for a reason which will be 
given when treating of the mole. The Hebrew name of the 
Bat is expressive of its nocturnal habits, and literally signifies 
some being that flies by night, and it is a notable fact that the 
Greek and Latin names for the bat have also a similar deri- 
vation. 

In Lev. xi. 20, the words, " All fowls that creep, going upon 
all four, shall be an abomination unto you," are evidently in- 
tended to apply to the bat, which, as is now well known, is not 
a bird with wings, but a mammal with very long toes, and a 
well developed membrane between them. Like other mammals, 
the Bat crawls, or walks, on all four legs, though the movement 
is but a clumsy one, and greatly different from the graceful ease 
with which the creature urges its course through the evening air 
in search of food. 



12 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Perhaps the prohibition to eat so unsightly an animal may 
seem almost needless ; but it must be remembered that in 
several parts of the earth, certain species of Bat are used, as 
food. These are chiefly the large species, that are called 
Kalongs, and which feed almost entirely on fruit, thus being to 
their insectivorous relatives what the fruit-loving bear is among 
the larger carnivora. These edible Bats have other habits not 
shared by the generality of their kin. Some of the species do 
not retire to caves and hollow trees for shelter during their hours 
of sleep, but suspend themselves by their hind legs from the 
topmost branches of the trees whose fruit affords them nourish- 
ment. In this position they have a most singular aspect, looking 
much as if they themselves were large bunches of fruit hanging 
from the boughs. Thus, they are cleanly animals, and are as 
little repulsive as bats can be expected to be. 

But the ordinary bats, such as are signified by the "night- 
fliers " of the Scriptures, are, when in a state of nature, exceed- 
ingly unpleasant creatures. Almost all animals are infested with 
parasitic insects, but the Bat absolutely swarms with them, so 
that it is impossible to handle a Bat recently dead without find- 
ing some of them on the hands. Also, the bats are in the habit 
of resorting to caverns, clefts in the rocks, deserted ruins, and 
similar dark places, wherein they pass the hours of daylight, and 
will frequent the same spots for a long series of years. In con- 
sequence of this habit, the spots which they select for their 
resting place become inconceivably noisome, and can scarcely be 
entered by human beings, so powerful is the odour with which 
they are imbued. 

Sometimes, when travellers have been exploring the chambers 
of ruined buildings, or have endeavoured to penetrate into the 
recesses of rocky caves, they have been repelled by the bats 
which had taken up their habitation therein. No sooner does 
the light of the torch or lamp shine upon the walls, than the 
clusters of bats detach themselves from the spots to which they 
had been clinging, and fly to the light like moths to a candle. 
No torch can withstand the multitude of wings that come flap- 
ping about it, sounding like the rushing of a strong wind, while 
the bats that do not crowd around the light, dash against the 
explorers, beating their leathery wings against their faces, and 
clinging in numbers to their dress. They would even settle on the 



THE BAT. IS 

face unless kept off by the hands, and sometimes they force the in 
traders to beat a retreat. They do not intend to attack, for they 
are quite incapable of doing any real damage ; and, in point of 
fact, they are much more alarmed than those whom they annoy. 
Nocturnal in their habits, they cannot endure the light, which 
completely dazzles them, so that they dash about at random, and 
fly blindly towards the torches in their endeavours to escape. 

If, then, we keep in mind the habits of the bats, we shall 
comprehend that their habitations must be inexpressibly revolt- 
ing to human beings, and shall the better understand the force of 
the prophecy that the idols shall be cast to the bats and the 
moles. 

There is another, and a very forcible passage, in which the 
Bat is mentioned. In the apocryphal book of Baruch, the Bat is 
used as a lively image of something peculiarly repulsive and 
hateful. Baruch was the secretary and faithful friend of 
Jeremiah the prophet, and Chapter VI. of the book of Baruch 
purports to be an epistle of Jeremiah to the captive Jews about 
to be led away to Babylon. After showing that they had 
brought their fate upon themselves by neglecting the worship of 
the true God, and prophesying that they would remain in cap- 
tivity for seven generations, the writer proceeds, in a strain of 
scathing and sustained satire, to deride the idols which they had 
adored, and to censure the infamous ceremonies that formed part 
of the worship. 

After describing the idols, made splendid with silver and gold, 
whose hands hold sceptres, and axes, and wands, and yet cannot 
save themselves from robbers ; whose tongues are polished by 
the workman and yet cannot speak a word; whose eyes are 
covered with dust which they cannot wipe off for themselves; 
he proceeds as follows : " Their hearts are gnawed upon by 
things creeping out of the earth ; and when they eat them and 
their clothes they feel it not. Their faces are blacked through 
the smoke that cometh out of the Temple. Upon their bodies 
and heads sit bats, swallows and birds, and the cats also. By 
this ye may know that they are no gods ; therefore fear 
them not." 

It is not to be expected that so strange looking an animal as 
the Bat would escape mention in the legends which are so 
plentiful in the East. 



14 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Signor Pierotti, who has done such signal service in the in- 
vestigation of the Holy Land, gives a most remarkaHe semi- 
Mahommedan and semi-Christian legend respecting the origin of 
the Bat. The Mahommedans, unlike the generality of Jews, 
have always respected the memory of our Lord Christ — the 
Prophet Tsa, as they call Him — ranking Him as one of the 
greatest of God's prophets, though they deny His actual 
divinity. In this curious legend, they have confused the forty 
days fast in the wilderness with the enforced Mahommedan fast 
called Ramadhan, much as the writers of the apocryphal gospels 
attributed to the holy family and the apostles certain phrases 
and acts of worship which were not in existence until several 
centuries after the Christian era. 

Towards the west of Jericho, there is a mountain which is 
identified both by Christians and Mahommedans as being the 
spot to which our Lord retired during his passion, and which, 
in consequence of this supposition, is called Kuruntun, or 
Quarantine. 

The reader, while perusing the following legend, must bear 
in mind that the fast of Ramadhan lasts for a month, and that 
from sunrise to sunset an entire abstinence from all kinds of 
nourishment is imperative upon all good Mussulmans. Even 
such luxuries as smoking or inhaling perfumes are forbidden, and 
although washing is permitted, the head must not be plunged 
under water, lest a few drops might find their way through the 
nostrils. In consequence of this strict prohibition, the moments 
of daybreak and sunset are noted with the most scrupulous care, 
the tables being set, pipes lighted, coffee prepared, and every 
luxury being made ready just before sunset, so that as the orb 
disappears beneath the horizon, the fasting multitudes may not 
lose a moment in satisfying their wants. A similar anxiety 
marks the approach of daybreak, because, as the first beams of 
the sun break through the darkness, neither food nor drink may 
pass their lips. 

We will now proceed to the Mahommedan legend, as it is 
given by S. Pierotti : " In this wild spot the great prophet Isa 
retired with his disciples to keep the holy month of the 
Ramadhan, afar from the tumults of the world. As the view 
westward was obstructed by the mountains of Jerusalem, and, 
consequently, the sunset could not be seen, he made, by the per- 



THE BAT. 15 

mission of God, an image in clay representing a winged 
creature ; and, after invoking the aid of the Eternal, breathed 
upon it. Immediately it napped its large wings, and fled into 
one of the dark caverns in the mountains. This creature was 
the Khopash (bat), which lies hid so long as the sun shine* 
upon the world, and comes forth from its retreat when it sets. 
Every night, at the Moghreb, i.e. at the moment of breaking the 
fast, this bat fluttered round Isa, who then prepared himself 
with his disciples for prayer. 

" As soon as they had performed this sacred duty, the Merciful 
caused to descend from heaven a silver table, covered with a 
cloth whose brilliancy illumined the darkness, on which were 
placed a large roasted fish, five loaves, salt, vinegar, oil, pome- 
granates, dates, and fresh salad, gathered in the gardens of 
heaven. On these the Prophet supped, and the angels of heaven 
ministered at table." 

This curious legend bears a great resemblance to the tales 
which are told of our Lord's childhood in some of the spurious 
gospels. It shows that both emanated from the same class of 
mind. In both is seen a strange mixture of vivid imagination 
contrasted with unexpected and almost puerile lack of inven- 
tion ; and, in both is exhibited a total failure in apprehension 
of cause and effect. Indeed, it is evident that this legend was 
the work of a comparatively modern Mahommedan story-teller, 
who appropriated the forty days' fast of our Lord from the true 
gospels, and the making of a flying creature of clay from the 
false, and modified them both to suit the purposes of his tale. 

No particular species of Bat seems te be indicated by the 
Hebrew word Hatalleph, which is evidently used in a compre- 
hensive sense, and signifies all and any species of Bat. Until 
very lately, the exact species of Bats which inhabit Palestine 
were not definitely ascertained, and could only be conjectured. 
But, Mr. Tristram, who travelled in the Holy Land for the ex- 
press purpose of investigating its physical history, has set this 
point at rest, in his invaluable work, " The Land of Israel," to 
which frequent reference will be made in the course of the 
following pages. 

Almost every cavern which he entered was tenanted by bats, 
ind. he procured several species of these repulsive but interesting 
animals. While exploring the vast prairies in which the stone 



16 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

for the Temple was worked beneath the earth, so that no sound 
of tool was heard during the building, numbers of bats were dis- 
turbed by the lights, and fluttered over the heads of the 
exploring party. 

On another occasion, he was exploring a cave near the centre 
of Palestine, when he succeeded in procuring some specimens, 
and therefore in identifying at least one species. " In climbing 
the rocks soon afterwards, to examine a cave, I heard a singular 
whining chatter within, and on creeping into its recesses, a stone 
thrown up roused from their roosting-places a colony of large bats, 
the soft waving flap of whose wings I could hear in the darkness. 
How to obtain one I knew not ; but on vigorously plying my 
signal whistle, all the party soon gathered to my help, B. sug- 
gested smoking them, so a fire of brushwood was kindled, and 
soon two or three rushed out. Two fell to our shot, and I was 
delighted to find myself the possessor of a couple of large fox- 
headed bats of the genus Pteropus (Xantharpya cegyptiaca), and 
extending twenty and a half inches from wing to wing. As none 
of the bats of Palestine are yet known, this was a great prize, 
and another instance of the extension westward of the Indian 
fauna." These Bats belong to the fruit-eating tribe, and are 
closely allied to the Plying Foxes of Java, Australia, and 
Southern Africa. Therefore, this would be one of the species 
commonly used for food, and hence the necessity for the prohibi- 
tion. The present species extends over the greater part of 
Northern Africa and into parts of Asia. 

The same traveller subsequently discovered several more 
species of bats. On one occasion, he was exploring some, caves, 
near the site of the ancient Jericho. On the eastern face of the 
cliffs are a number of caves, arranged in regular tiers, and 
originally approached by steps cut out of the face of the rock. 
These staircases are, however, washed away by time and the 
rains, and in consequence the upper tiers were almost inacces- 
sible. In some of these caves the walls were covered with 
brilliant, but mutilated frescoes ; and in others, hermits had 
lived and died and been buried. Mr. Tristram and his com- 
panions had penetrated to the second tier, and there made a 
curious discovery. 

" In the roof of this was a small hole, athwart which lay a 
stick. After many efforts, we got a string across it, and so 






THE BAT. 



17 



hauled up a rope, by which, rinding the stick strong enough, we 
climbed, and with a short exercise of the chimney-sweeper's art, 
we found ourselves in a third tier of cells, similar to the lower 
ones, and covered with the undisturbed dust of ages. Behind 
the chapel was a dark cave, with an entrance eighteen inches 
high. Having lighted our lantern, we crept in on our faces, and 




THIS HAT. 

The Lapwing and the Bat are unclean." — Lev. xi. 19. 



found the place full of human bones and skulls ; with dust 
several inches deep. We were in the burying-place of the 
Anchorites. Their bones lay heaped, but in undisturbed order, 
probably as the corpses had been stretched soon after death, and 
as in the campo-santo of some Italian monasteries, had been 
3 C 



18 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

desiccated, and in the dry atmosphere had gradually pulverized. 
The skeletons were laid west and east, awaiting the resurrection. 
After capturing two or three long-tailed "Bats, of a species new to 
us (Rhinopoma microphylla), the only living occupants, we crept 
out, with a feeling of religious awe, from this strange sepulchral 
cave." This bat is called the Egyptian Rhinopome, and the same 
species of Bat was found in considerable numbers in the cave at 
Es Sumrah. Three more species were found in the tombs of the 
kings, and it is probable that many other species inhabit 
Palestine. It is certain, at all events, that representatives of 
three more families of Bats inhabit Egypt, and therefore are. 
most probably to be found in Palestine. 



THE LION. 



Frequent mention of the Lion in the Scriptures — Probability that it was once a 
common animal, though now extinct — Seasons for its disappearance — The Lion 
employed as an emblem m the Bible — Similarity of the African and Asiatic 
species — The chief characteristics of the Lion — its strength, activity, and mode 
of seizing its prey — Various names of the Lion — its courage when roused — its 
roar and peculiar mode of utterance - Invisibility of the Lion at dusk — The 
Lion lying in wait — The dwelling-place of the Lion — Its restlessness at night 
- Passages illustrative of these characteristics — Modes of capturing the Lion— 
The pitfall and the net — Lions kept as curiosities — The Lion hunt as depicted 
on the buildings of ancient Nineveh. 



Of all the undomesticated animals of Palestine, none is men- 
tioned so frequently as the Lion. This may appear the more 
remarkable, because for many years the Lion has been extinct 
in Palestine. The leopard, the wolf, the jackal, and the hya3na, 
still retain their place in the land, although their numbers are 
comparatively few ; but the Lion has vanished completely out of 
the land. The reason for this disappearance is twofold, first, 
the thicker population; and second, the introduction of 
firearms. 

No animal is less tolerant of human society than the Lion. In 
the first place, it dreads the very face of man, and as a rule, 



THE LION. 19 

whenever it sees a man will slink away and hide itself. There 
are, of course, exceptional cases to this rule. Sometimes a Lion 
becomes so old and stiff, his teeth are so worn, and his endurance 
so slight, that he is unable to chase his usual prey, and is 
obliged to seek for other means of subsistence. In an unpopu- 
lated district, he would simply be starved to death, but when 
his lot is cast in the neighbourhood of human beings, he is per- 
force obliged to become a " man-eater." Even in that case, a 
Lion will seldom attack a man, unless he should be able to do so 
unseen, but will hang about the villages, pouncing on the women 
as they come to the wells for water, or upon the little children 
as they stray from their parents, and continually shifting his 
quarters lest he should be assailed during his sleep. The Lion 
requires a very large tract of country for his maintenance, and 
the consequence is, that in proportion as the land is populated 
does the number of Lions decrease. 

Firearms are the special dread of the Lion. In the first place, 
the Lion, like all wild beasts, cannot endure fire, and the flash of 
the gun terrifies him greatly. Then, there is the report, surpass- 
ing even his roar in resonance; and lastly, there is the uuseen 
bullet, which seldom kills him at once, but mostly drives him to 
furious anger by the pain of his wound, yet which he does not 
dread nearly so much as the harmless flash and report. There is 
another cause of the Lion's banishment from the Holy Land. 
It is well known that to attract any wild beast or bird to some 
definite spot, all that is required is to provide them with a suit- 
able and undisturbed home, and a certainty of food. Conse- 
quently, the surest method of driving them away is to deprive 
them of both these essentials. Then the Lion used to live in 
forests, which formerly stretched over large tracts of ground, but 
which have long since been cut down, thus depriving the Lion of 
its home, while the thick population and the general use of fire- 
arms have deprived him of his food. In fact, the Lion has been 
driven out of Palestine, just as the wolf has been extirpated 
from England. 

Rut, in the olden times, Lions must have been very plentiful. 
There is scarcely a book in the Bible, whether of the Old or 
New Testaments, whether historical or prophetical, that does not 
contain some mention of this terrible animal; sometimes de- 
scribing the actions of individual Lions, but mostly using the 

c2 



20 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

word as an emblem of strength and force, whether used for a 
good purpose or abused for a oad one. 

There are several varieties of Lion, which may be reduced to 
two, namely, the African and the Asiatic Lion. It is almost 
certain, however, that these animals really are one and the same 
species, and that the trifling differences which exist between an 
African and an Asiatic Lion, are not sufficient to justify a 
naturalist in considering them to be distinct species. The habits 
of both are identical, modified, as is sure to be the case, by the 
difference of locality ; but then, such variations in habit are con- 
tinually seen in animals confessedly of the same species, which 
happen to be placed in different conditions of climate and 
locality. 

That it was once exceedingly plentiful in Palestine is evident, 
from a very cursory knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. It is 
every where mentioned as a well-known animal, equally familiar 
and dreaded. When the disobedient prophet was killed by the 
Lion near Bethel, the fact seemed not to have caused any sur- 
prise in the neighbourhood. When the people, came out to 
rescue the body of the prophet, they wondered much because the 
Lion was standing by the fallen man, but had not torn him, and 
had left the ass unhurt. But that a Lion should have killed a 
man seems to have been an event which was not sufficiently 
rare to be surprising. 

We will now proceed to those characteristics of the Lion 
which bear especial reference to the Scriptures. 

In the first place, size for size, the Lion is one of the strongest 
of beasts. Perhaps it is surpassed in point of sheer strength by 
the mole, but it possesses infinitely more activity than that 
animal. Moreover, the strength of the mole is concentrated in 
its fore-quarters, the hind limbs being comparatively feeble ; 
whereas, the strength of the Lion is equally distributed over the 
body and limbs, giving to the animal an easy grace of movement 
which is rare except with such a structure. A full-grown Lion 
cannot only knock down and kill, but can carry away in its 
mouth, an ordinary ox ; and one of these terrible animals has been 
known to pick up a heifer in its mouth, and to leap over a wide 
ditch still carrying its burden. Another Lion carried a two-year 
old heifer, and was chased for five hours by mounted farmers, so 
that it must have traversed a very considerable distance. Yet, in 



THE LION. 21 

the whole of this long journey, the legs of the heifer had only 
two or three times touched the ground. 

It kills man, and comparatively small animals, such as deer 
and antelopes, with a blow of its terrible paw ; and often needs 
to give no second blow to cause the death of its victim. The 
sharp talons are not needed to cause death, for the weight of the 
blow is sufficient for that purpose. 

When the hunter pursues it with dogs, after the usual fashion, 
there is often a great slaughter among them, especially among 
those that are inexperienced in the chase of the Lion. Urged by 
their instinctive antipathy, the dogs rush forward to the spot 
where the Lion awaits' them, and old hounds bay at him from a 
safe distance, while the young and inexperienced among them 
are apt to convert the sham attack into a real one. Their valour 
meets with a poor reward, for a few blows from the Lion's ter- 
rible paws send his assailants flying in all directions, their bodies 
streaming with blood, and in most cases a fatal damage inflicted, 
while more than one unfortunate dog lies fairly crushed by the 
weight of a paw laid with apparent carelessness upon its body. 
There is before me a Lion's skin, a spoil of one of these animals 
shot by the celebrated sportsman, Gordon Cumming. Although 
the skin lies flat upon the floor, and the paws are nothing but 
the skin and talons, the weight of each paw is very consider- 
able, and always surprises those who hear it fall on the floor. 

There are several Hebrew words which are used for the Lion, 
but that which signifies the animal in its adult state is derived 
from an Arabic word signifying strength ; and therefore the 
Lion is called the Strong-one, just as the Bat is called the Night- 
flier. No epithet could be better deserved, for the Lion seems to 
be a very incarnation of strength, and, even when dead, gives as 
vivid an idea of concentrated power as when it was living. 
And, when the skin is stripped from the body, the tremendous 
muscular development never fails to create a sensation of awe. 
The muscles of the limbs, themselves so hard as to blunt the 
keen-edged knives employed by a dissecter, are enveloped in 
their glittering sheaths, playing upon each other like well-oiled 
machinery, and terminating in tendons seemingly strong as steel, 
and nearly as impervious to the knife. Not until the skin is re- 
moved can any one form a conception of the enormously power- 
ful muscles of the neck, which enable the Lion to lift the 



22 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

weighty prey which it kills, and to convey it to a place of 
security. 

Although usually unwilling to attack an armed man, it is one 
of the most courageous animals in existence when it is driven to 
fight, and if its anger is excited, it cares little for the number of 
its foes, or the weapons with which they are armed. Even the 
dreaded firearms lose their terrors to an angry Lion, while a 
Lioness, who fears for the safety of her young, is simply the 
most terrible animal in existence. We know how even a hen 
will fight for her chickens, and how she has been known to beat 
off the fox and the hawk by the reckless fury of her attack. 
It may be easily imagined, therefore, that a Lioness actuated by 
equal courage, and possessed of the terrible weapons given to 
her by her Creator, would be an animal almost too formidable 
for the conception of those who have not actually witnessed the 
scene of a Lioness defending her little ones. 

The roar of the Lion is another of the characteristics for which 
it is celebrated. There is no beast that can produce a sound that 
could for a moment be mistaken for the roar of the Lion. The 
Lion has a habit of stooping his head towards the ground when 
he roars, so that the terrible sound rolls along like thunder, and 
reverberates in many an echo in the far distance. Owing to this 
curious habit, the roar can be heard at a very great distance, but its 
locality is rendered uncertain, and it is often difficult to be quite 
sure whether the Lion is to the right or the left of the hearer. 

There are few sounds which strike more awe than the Lion's 
roar. Even at the Zoological Gardens, where the hearer knows 
that he is in perfect safety, and where the Lion is enclosed in a 
small cage faced with strong iron bars, the sound of the terrible 
roar always has a curious effect upon the nerves. It is not 
exactly fear, because the hearer knows that, he is safe ; but it is 
somewhat akin to the feeling of mixed awe and admiration with 
which one listens to the crashing thunder after the lightning has 
sped its course. If such be the case when the Lion is safely 
housed in a cage, and is moreover so tame that even if he did 
escape, he would be led back by the keeper without doing any 
harm, the effect of the roar must indeed be terrific when the 
Lion is at liberty, when he is in his own country, and when the 
shades of evening prevent him from being seen even at a short 
distance. 



THE LION. 



In the dark, there is no animal so invisible as a Lion. Almost 
Bvery hunter has told a similar story — of the Lion's approach at 
night, of the terror displayed by dogs and cattle as he drew 
near, and of the utter inability to see him, though he was so 
close that they could hear his breathing. Sometimes, when he 
has crept near an encampment, or close to a cattle inclosure, he 
does not proceed any farther lest he should venture within the 
radius illumined by the rays of the fire. So he crouches closely 
to the ground, and, in the semi- darkness, looks so like a large 
stone, or a little hillock, that any one might pass close to it 
without perceiving its real nature. This gives the opportunity 
for which the Lion has been watching, and in a moment he 
strikes down the careless straggler, and carries off his prey to 
the den. Sometimes, when very much excited, he accompanies 
the charge with a roar, but, as a general fact, he secures his prey 
in silence. 

The roar of the Lion is very peculiar. It is not a mere out- 
burst of sound, but a curiously graduated performance. No de- 
scription of the Lion's roar is so vivid, so true, and so graphic as 
that of Gordon Cumming : " One of the most striking things 
connected with the Lion is his voice, which is extremely grand 
and peculiarly striking. It consists -xt times of a low, deep 
moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintly audible 
sighs. At other times he startles the forest with loud, deep- 
toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick succes- 
sion, each increasing in loudness to the third 01 fourth, when his 
voice dies away in five or six low, muffled sounds, very much 
resembling distant thunder. As a general rule, Lions roar during 
the night, their sighing moans commencing as the shades of 
evening envelop the forest, and continuing at intervals through- 
out the night. In distant and secluded regions, however, 1 have 
constantly heard them roaring loudly as late as nine or ten 
o'clock on a bright sunny morning. In hazy and rainy weather 
they are to be heard at every hour in the day, but their roar is 
subdued." 

Lastly, we come to the dwelling-place of the Lion. This 
animal always fixes its residence in the depths of some forest, 
through which it threads its stealthy way with admirable cer- 
tainty. No fox knows every hedgerow, ditch, drain, and covert 
better than the Lion knows the whole country around his den. 



24 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Each Lion seems to have his peculiar district, in which only 
himself and his family will be found. These animals seem to 
parcel out. the neighbourhood among themselves by a tacit law 
like that which the dogs of eastern countries have imposed upon 
themselves, and which forbids them to go out of the district in 
which they were born. During the night he traverses his 
dominions ; and, as a rule, he retires to his den as soon as the 
sun is fairly above the horizon. Sometimes he will be in wait 
for prey in the broadest daylight, but his ordinary habits are 
nocturnal, and in the daytime he is usually asleep in his secret 
dwelling-place. 

We will now glance at a few of the passages in which the 
Lion is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, selecting those which 
treat of its various characteristics. 

The terrible strength of the Lion is the subject of repeated 
reference. In the magnificent series of prophecies uttered by 
Jacob on his deathbed, the power of the princely tribe of Judah 
is predicted under the metaphor of a Lion— the beginning of its 
power as a Lion's whelp, the fulness of its strength as an adult 
Lion, and its matured establishment in power as the old Lion 
that couches himself and none dares to disturb him. Then 
Solomon, in the Proverbs, speaks of the Lion as the " strongest 
among beasts, and that turneth not away for any " 

Solomon also alludes to its courage in the same book, Prov. 
xxviii. 1, in the well-known passage, " The wicked rleeth when 
no man pursueth : but the righteous are bold as a lion." And, 
in 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, the courage of Benaiah, one of the mighty 
three of David's army, is specially honoured, because he fought 
and killed a Lion single-handed, and because he conquered 
" two lion-like men of Moab." David, their leader, had also dis- 
tinguished himself, when a mere keeper of cattle, by pursuing 
and killing a Lion that had come to plunder his herd. In the 
same book of Samuel which has just been quoted (xvii. 10), 
the valiant men are metaphorically described as having the 
hearts of Lions. 

The ferocity of this terrible beast of prey is repeatedly men- 
tioned, and the Psalms are full of such allusions, the fury and 
anger of enemies being compared to the attacks of the Lion. 

Many passages refer to the Lion's roar, and it is remarkable 
that the Hebrew language contains several words by which the 



THE LION. 25 

different kind of roar is described. One word, for example, 
represents the low, deep, thunder-like roar of the Lion seeking 
its prey, and which has already been mentioned. This is the 
word which is used in Amos iii. 4, "Will a lion roar in the 
forest when he hath no prey ? " and in this passage the word 
which is translated as Lion signifies the animal when full grown 
and in the prime of life. Another word is used to signify the 
sudden exulting cry of the Lion as it leaps upon its victim. A 
third is used for the angry growl with which a Lion resents any 
endeavour to deprive it of its prey, a sound with which we are 
all familiar, on a miniature scale, when we hear a cat growling 
over a mouse which she has just caught. The fourth term signifies 
the peculiar roar uttered by the young Lion after it has ceased 
to be a cub and before it has attained maturity. This last term 
is employed in Jer. li. 38, "They shall roar together like lions ; 
they shall yell as lions' whelps," in which passage two distinct 
words are used, one signifying the roar of the Lion when search- 
ing after prey, and the other the cry of the young Lions. 

The prophet Amos, who in his capacity of herdsman was 
familiar with the wild beasts, from which he had to guard his 
cattle, makes frequent mention of the Lion, and does so with a force 
and vigour that betoken practical experience. How powerful is 
this imagery, " The lion hath roared; who will not fear ? The Lord 
God hath spoken ; who can but prophesy ? " Here we have the 
picture of the man himself, the herdsman and prophet, who had 
trembled many a night, as the Lions drew nearer and nearer; 
and who heard the voice of the Lord, and his lips poured out 
prophecy. Nothing can be more complete than the parallel 
which he has drawn. It breathes the very spirit of piety, and 
may bear comparison even with the prophecies of Isaiah for its 
simple grandeur. 

It is remarkable how the sacred writers have entered into the 
spirit of the world around them, and how closely they observed 
the minutest details even in the lives of the brute beasts. There 
is a powerful passage in the book of Job, iv. 11, "The old 
lion perisheth for lack of prey," in which the writer betrays his 
thorough knowledge of the habits of the animal, and is aware 
that the usual mode of a Lion's death is through hunger, in con- 
sequence of his increasing inability to catch prey. 

The nocturnal habits of the Lion and its custom of lying in 



26 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

wait for prey are often mentioned in the Scriptures. The former 
habit is spoken of in that familiar and beautiful passage in 
the Psalms (civ. 20), " Thou makest darkness, and it is night ; 
wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young 
Lions roar after their prey ; and seek their meat from God. The 
sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down 
in tlieir dens." 

Its custom of lying in wait is frequently alluded to. See Psalm 
x. 9, where it is said of the wicked man, that " He lieth in wait 
secretly, as a lion in his den." Also, Lam. iii. 10, " He was unto 
me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places." Also, 
Ps. xvii. 11, wherein the peculiar gait and demeanour of the 
Lion is admirably depicted, " They have now compassed us in 
our steps ; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth ; 
like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young 
lion lurking in secret places." 

The retired spots, deep in the forest, where the Lion makes his 
den, are repeatedly mentioned. See for example, Cant. iv. 8, 
" Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and 
Hermon, from the lions' dens." Also, Jer. iv. 7, " The lion is 
come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is 
on his way." The same Prophet contains several passages 
illustrative of the Lion's habitation ; see ch. v. 6, " Wherefore 
a lion out of the forest shall slay them ; " xii. 8, " Mine 
heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest ; " and lastly, xxv. 38, 
" He hath forsaken his covert as the lion." 

An animal so destructive among the flocks and herds could 
not be allowed to carry out its depredations unchecked, and as 
we have already seen, the warfare waged against it has been so 
successful, that the Lions have long ago been fairly extirpated in 
Palestine. The usual method of capturing or killing the Lion 
was by pitfalls or nets, to both of which there are many refer- 
ences in the Scriptures. 

The mode of hunting the Lion with nets was identical with 
that which is practised in India at the present time. The pre- 
cise locality of the Lion's dwelling-place having been discovered, 
a circular wall of net is arranged round it, or if only a few nets 
can be obtained, they are set in a curved form, the concave side 
being towards the Lion. T-hey then send dogs into the thicket, 
hurl stones and sticks at the den, shoot arrows into it, fling 




"The lion ia come up from his thicket'— Jkb iv 7 

"'She lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young Ilo^-Eonm xix. 2. 



the lion. 27 

burning torches at it, and so irritate and alarm the animal that it 
rushes against the net, which is so made that it falls down and 
envelopes the animal in its folds. If the nets be few, the drivers 
go to the opposite side of the den, and induce the Lion to escape 
in the direction where he sees no foes, but where he is sure to run 
against the treacherous net. Other large and dangerous animals 
were also captured by the same means. 

Allusions to this sort of hunting are familiar to all students 
of the Bible. In the book of Job, xix. 6, the writer laments 
that " God hath compassed me with his net," in allusion to the 
custom of surrounding the den of the animal. The Psalms 
make frequent mention of the net as used in hunting. See 
Ps. ix. 15, " In the net they hid is their foot taken." Ps. xxxv. 
8, " Let his net that he hath hid catch himself," together with 
other passages. Then, the prophet Isaiah alludes to the utter 
helplessness of a wild animal when thus taken. Isaiah li. 20, 
" Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, 
as a wild bull in a net." 

Another and more common, because an easier and a cheaper 
method was, by digging a deep pit, covering the mouth with a 
slight covering of sticks and earth, and driving the animal upon 
the treacherous covering. It is an easier method than the net, 
because after the pit is once dug, the only trouble lies in throw- 
ing the covering over its mouth. But, it is not so well adapted 
for taking beasts alive, as they are likely to be damaged, either 
by the fall into the pit, or by the means used in getting them 
out again. Animals, therefore, that are caught in pits are 
generally, though not always, killed before they are taken out. 
The net, however, envelops the animal so perfectly, and renders 
it so helpless, that it can be easily bound and taken away. The 
hunting net is very expensive, and requires a large staff of men 
to work it, so that none but a rich man could use the net in 
hunting. 

The passages in which allusion is made to the use of the pitfall 
in hunting are too numerous to be quoted, and it will be suf- 
ficient to mention one or two passages, such as those wherein the 
Psalmist laments that his enemies have hidden for him their net 
in a pit, and that the proud have digged pits for him. 

Lions that were taken in nets seem to have been kept alive 
in dens, either as mere curiosities, or as instruments of royal 



28 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

vengeance. Such seems to have been the object of the Lions 
which were kept by Darius, into whose den Daniel was thrown, 
by royal command, and which afterwards killed his accusers 
when thrown into the same den. It is plain that the Lions kept 
by Darius must have been exceedingly numerous, because they 
killed at once the accusers of Daniel, who were many in number, 
together with their wives and children, who, in accordance with 
the cruel custom of that age and country, were partakers of 
the same punishment with the real culprits. The whole of the 
first part of Ezek. xix. alludes to the custom of taking Lions 
alive and keeping them in durance afterwards. 

Sometimes the Lion was hunted as a sport, but this amuse- 
ment seems to have been restricted to the great men, on account 
of its expensive nature, Such hunting scenes are graphically 
depicted in the famous Nineveh sculptures, which represent the 
hunters pursuing their mighty game in chariots, and destroying 
them with arrows. Rude, and even conventional as are these 
sculptures, they have a spirit, a force, and a truthfulness, that 
prove them to have been designed by artists to whom the 
scene was a familiar one. Nothing can be better than the 
attitudes of the Lions ; and, whether they are shown in the act 
of striking a blow, with all the talons thrust out and the toes 
spread as widely as possible ; whether they are springing on the 
chariot of the hunter, or sinking lifeless beneath his arrows, 
every attitude is marvellously true to nature, and makes the 
spectator regret that the artist should have been trammelled by 
the exigencies of the work on which he was engaged. 






THE LEOPARD* 29 



THE LEOPARD. 

The Leopard not often mentioned in the Scriptures its attributes exactly 
described — Probability that several animals were classed under the name- 
How the Leopard takes its prey — Craft of the Leopard — its ravages among the 
flocks — The empire of man over the beast — The Leopard at Bay— Localities 
wherein the Leopard lives — The skin of the Leopard — Various passages oi 
Scripture explained. 

Of the Leopard but little is said in the Holy Scriptures. 

In the New Testament this animal is only mentioned once, 
and then in a metaphorical rather than a literal sense. In the 
Old Testament it is casually mentioned seven times, and only in 
two places is the word Leopard used in the strictly literal sense. 
Yet, in those brief passages of Holy Writ, the various attributes 
of the animal are delineated with such fidelity, that no one 
could doubt that the Leopard was familiarly known in Palestine. 
Its colour, its swiftness, its craft, its ferocity, and the nature of 
its dwelling-place, are all touched upon in a few short sentences 
scattered throughout the Old Testament, and even its peculiar 
habits are alluded to in a manner that proves it to have been well 
known at the time when the words were written. 

It is my purpose in the following pages to give a brief account 
of the Leopard of the Scriptures, laying most stress on the 
qualities to which allusion is made, and then to explain the 
passages in which the name of the animal occurs. 

In the first place, it is probable that under the word Leopard 
are comprehended three animals, two of which, at least, were 
thought to be one species until the time of Cuvier. These three 
animals are the Leopard proper (Leopardus varius), the Ounce 
(Leopardus uncia), and the Chetah, or Hunting Leopard (Gue- 
parda jubata). All these three species belong to the same family 
of animals ; all are spotted and similar in colour, all are nearly 
alike in shape, and all are inhabitants of Asia, while two of 
them, the Leopard and the Chetah, are also found in Africa. 



so 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



It is scarcely necessary to mention that the Leopard is a beast 
of prey belonging to the cat tribe, that its colour is tawny, 
variegated with rich black spots, and that it is a fierce and 
voracious animal, almost equally dreaded by man and beast. It 
inhabits many parts of Africa and Asia, and in those portions of 
the country which are untenanted by mankind, it derives all its 
sustenance from the herb-eating animals of the same tracts. 







THE LEOPARD. 

As a Leopard by the way will I observe them."— Hos. xii ; . ?. 



To deer and antelopes it is a terrible enemy, and in spite of 
their active limbs, seldom fails in obtaining its prey. Swift as 
is the Leopard, for a short distance, and wonderful as its spring. 
it has not the enduring speed of the deer or antelope, animals 
which are specially formed for running, and which, if n limb is 



THE LEOPARD. 31 

shattered, can run nearly as fast and quite as far on three legs 
as they can when all four limbs are uninjured. Instinctively 
knowing its inferiority in the race, the Leopard supplies by 
cunning the want of enduring speed. 

It conceals itself in some spot whence it can see far around 
without being seen, and thence surveys the country. A tree is 
the usual spot selected for this purpose, and the Leopard, after 
climbing the trunk by means of its curved talons, settles itself 
in the fork of the branches, so that its body is hidden by the 
boughs, and only its head is shown between them. With such 
scrupulous care does it conceal itself, that none but a practised 
hunter can discover it, while any one who is unaccustomed to 
the woods cannot see the animal even when the tree is pointed 
out to him. 

As soon as the Leopard sees the deer feeding at a distance, he 
slips down the tree and stealthily glides off in their direction. 
He has many difficulties to overcome, because the deer are 
among the most watchful of animals, and if the Leopard were 
to approach to the windward, they would scent him while he 
was yet a mile away from them. If he were to show himself 
but for one moment in the open ground he would be seen, and 
if he were but to shake a branch or snap a dry twig he would 
be heard. So, he is obliged to approach them against the wind, 
to keep himself under cover, and yet to glide so carefully along 
that the heavy foliage of the underwood shall not be shaken, and 
the dry sticks and leaves which strew the ground shall not be 
broken. He has also to escape the observation of certain birds 
and beasts which inhabit the woods, and which would certainly 
set up their alarm-cry as soon as they saw him, and so give 
warning to the wary deer, which can perfectly understand a cry 
of alarm, from whatever animal it may happen to proceed. 

Still, he proceeds steadily on his course, gliding from one 
covert to another, and often expending several hours before he 
can proceed for a mile. By degrees he contrives to come toler- 
ably close to them, and generally manages to conceal himself in 
some spot towards which the deer are gradually feeding their 
way. As soon as they are near enough, he collects himself for 
a spring, just as a cat does when she leaps on a bird, and dashes 
towards the deer in a series of mighty bounds. For a moment 
or two they are startled and paralysed with fear at the sudden 



32 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



appearance of their enemy, and thus give him time to get among 
them. Singling out some particular animal, he leaps upon it, 
strikes it down with one blow of his paw, and then, couching 
on the fallen animal, he tears open its throat, and laps the 
flowing blood. 

In this manner does it obtain its prey when it lives m the 
desert, but when it happens to be in the neighbourhood of 
human habitations, it acts in a different manner. Whenever man 
settles himself in any place, his presence is a signal for the 
beasts of the desert and forest to fly. The more timid, such as 
the deer and antelope, are afraid of him, and betake themselves 
as far away as possible. The more savage inhabitants of the 
land, such as the lion, leopard, and other animals, wage an un- 
equal war against him for a time, but are continually driven 
farther and farther away, until at last they are completely ex- 
pelled from the country. The predaceous beasts are, however, loth 
to retire, and do so by very slow degrees. They can no longer 
support themselves on the deer and antelopes, but find a simple 
substitute for them in the flocks and herds which man intro- 
duces, and in the seizing of which there is as much craft re- 
quired as in the catching of the fleeter and wilder animals. 
Sheep and goats cannot run away like the antelopes, but they 
are penned so carefully within inclosures, and guarded so 
watchfully by herdsmen and dogs, that the Leopard is obliged to 
exert no small amount of cunning before it can obtain a meal. 

Sometimes it creeps quietly to the fold, and escapes the notice 
of the dogs, seizes upon a sheep, and makes off with it before 
the alarm is given. Sometimes it hides by the wayside, and as 
the flock pass by it dashes into the midst of them, snatches up a 
sheep, and disappears among the underwood on the opposite 
side of the road. Sometimes it is crafty enough to deprive the 
fold of its watchful guardian. Dogs which are used to Leopard- 
hunting never attack the animal, though they are rendered 
furious by the sound of its voice. They dash at it as if they 
meant to devour it, but take very good care to keep out of reach 
of its terrible paws. By continually keeping the animal at bay, 
they give time for their master to come up, and generally con- 
trive to drive it into a tree, where it can be shot. 

But instances have; been known where the Leopard has taken 
advantage of the dogs, and carried them off in a very cunning 



THE LEOPARD. 33 

manner. It hides itself tolerably near the fold, and then begins 
to growl in a low voice. The dogs think that they hear a 
Leopard at a distance, and dash towards the sound with 
furious barks and yells. In so doing, they are sure to pass by 
the hiding-place of the Leopard, which springs upon them 
unawares, knocks one of them over, and bounds away to its den 
in the woods. It does not content itself with taking sheep or 
goats from the fold, but is also a terrible despoiler of the hen- 
roosts, destroying great numbers in a single night when once it 
contrives to find its way into the house. 

As an instance of the cunning which seems innate in the 
Leopard, I may mention that whenever it takes up its abode 
near a village, it does not meddle with the flocks and herds of 
its neighbours, but prefers to go to some other village at a dis- 
tance for food, thus remaining unsuspected almost at the very 
doors of the houses. 

In general, it does not willingly attack mankind, and' at all 
events seems rather to fear the presence of a full-grown man. 
But, when wounded or irritated, all sense of fear is lost in an 
overpowering rush of fury, and it then becomes as terrible a foe 
as the lion himself. It is not so large nor so strong, but it is 
more agile and quicker in its movements ; and when it is seized 
with one of these paroxysms of anger, the eye can scarcely 
follow it as it darts here and there, striking with lightning 
rapidity, and dashing at any foe within reach. Its whole shape 
seems to be transformed, and absolutely to swell with anger ; its 
eyes flash with fiery lustre, its ears are thrown back on the 
head, and it continually utters alternate snarls and yells of rage. 
It is hardly possible to recognise the graceful, lithe glossy 
creature, whose walk is so noiseless, and whose every movement 
is so easy, in the furious passion-swollen animal that flies at 
every foe with blind fury, and pours out sounds so fierce and 
menacing that few men, however well armed, will care to face it. 

As is the case with most of the cat tribe, the Leopard is an 
"xcellent climber, and can ascend trees and traverse their boughs 
without the least difficulty. It is so fond of trees, that it is 
seldom to be seen except in a well-wooded district. Its 
favourite residence is a forest where th^re is plenty of under- 
wood, at least six or seven feet in height, among which trees are 
sparingly interspersed. When crouched in this cover it is piac- 
4 D 



34 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

tically invisible, even though its body may be within arm's 
length of a passenger. The spotted body harmonizes so per- 
fectly with the broken lights and deep shadows of the foliage 
that even a practised hunter will not enter a covert in search of 
a Leopard unless he is accompanied by dogs. The instinct which 
teaches the Leopard to choose such localities is truly wonderful, 
and may be compared with that of the tiger, which cares little 
for underwood, but haunts the grass jungles, where the long, 
narrow blades harmonize with the stripes which decorate 
its body. 

The skin of the Leopard has always been highly valued on 
account of its beauty, and in Africa, at the present day, a robe 
made of its spotted skin is as much an adjunct of royalty as is 
the ermine the emblem of judicial dignity in England. In more 
ancient times, a leopard skin was the official costume of a priest, 
the skin being sometimes shaped into a garment, and sometimes 
thrown over the shoulders and the paws crossed over the breast. 

Such is a general history of the Leopard. We will now pro- 
ceed to the various passages in which it is mentioned, beginning 
with its outward aspect. 

In the first place, the Hebrew word Namer signifies " spotted," 
and is given to the animal in allusion to its colours. The reader 
will now see how forcible is the lament of Jeremiah, " Can the 
Ethiopian change his skin, or the Leopard his spots ? " Literally, 
" Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the spotted one his 
spots ? " 

The agility and swiftness of the Leopard are alluded to in 
the prediction by the prophet Habakkuk of the vengeance that 
would come upon Israel through the Chaldeans. In chap. i. 5, 
we read : " I will work a work in your days, which ye will not 
believe though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, 
that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the 
breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are not 
theirs. They are terrible and dreadful ; their judgment and 
their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are 
swifter than the Leopards, and are more fierce than the evening 
wolves." 

The craftiness of the Leopard, and the manner in which it 
lies in wait for its prey, are alluded to in more than one passage 
of Holy Writ. Hosea the prophet alludes to the Leopard, in a 



THE LEOPARD. 35 

few simple words which display an intimate acquaintance with 
the habits of this formidable animal, and in this part of his 
prophecies he displays that peculiar local tone which dis- 
tinguishes his writings. Speaking of the Israelites under the 
metaphor of a flock, or a herd, he proceeds to say : " According 
to their pasture so were they filled ; they were filled, and their 
heart was exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore 
I will be unto them as a lion, as a Leopard by the way will I 
observe them." The reader will note the peculiar force of this 
sentence, whereby God signifies that He will destroy them 
openly, as a lion rushes on its prey, and that he will chastise 
them unexpectedly, as if it were a Leopard crouching by the 
wayside, and watching for the flock to pass, that it may spring 
on its prey unexpectedly. The same habit of the Leopard 
is also alluded to by Jeremiah, who employs precisely the same 
imagery as is used by Habakkuk. See Jer. v. 5, 6, " These have 
altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds Wherefore 
a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the 
evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their 
cities." It is evident from the employment of this image by 
two prophets, the one being nearly a hundred years before the 
other, that the crafty, insidious habits of the Leopard were well 
known in Palestine, and that the metaphor would tell with full 
force among those to whom it was addressed. 

The havoc which the Leopard makes among the sheep and 
goats is alluded to by the prophet Isaiah, chap. xi. 6 : " The 
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie 
down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion together, 
and a little child shall lead them." Here again we find the same 
imagery employed, the people being signified under the metaphor 
of flocks and herds, and their enemies symbolised by lions, 
wolves, and Leopards. And herein the Prophet speaks as from 
accurate knowledge of the habits of the three predaceous animals. 
The wolf, as a rule, devastates the sheepfolds ; the Leopard will 
steal upon and carry off the straggling goat or kid, because it 
can follow them upon the precipices where no wolf would dare 
to tread ; while the lion, being the strongest and more daring 
of the three, attacks the herds, and carries away to its lair the 
oxen which neither Leopard nor wolf could move. 

There is of course a deeper meaning than has been mentioned : 

D 2 



36 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

but any commentary on that subject would be out of place in 
a work like the present, and, however tempting the subject may 
be to the writer, it is better that the reader should be left to 
investigate it for himself. 

Lastly, the peculiar localities which. the Leopard loves are 
mentioned in the Song of Solomon, chap. iv. 8 : " Come with 
me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon : look from 
the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from 
the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards." Formerly, 
large forests of pine, oak, and cedar covered Lebanon, and in 
those days the wild beasts of the forest would be extremely 
plentiful. Even at the present day they are not extinct, and 
a recent traveller, the Eev. J. L. Porter, states that considerable 
numbers of wild beasts still inhabit the retired glens of the 
range of Lebanon, and that he himself has seen jackals, hyaenas, 
wolves, bears, and Leopards. 

The remaining passages, in which a beast formed like a 
Leopard was seen in a vision by the prophet Daniel and St. John 
the Evangelist, are purely allegorical, and have nothing to do 
with the actual animal. 



THE CAT. 

The Cat never mentioned by name in the canonical Scriptures, and only once in 
the Apocrypha — The Cat domesticated among the Egyptians, and trained in 
bird-catching — Neglected capabilities of the Cat — Anecdote of an English 
Cat that caught fish for her master — Presumed reason why the Scriptures are 
silent about the Cat — The Cat mentioned by Baruch. 

It is a very remarkable circumstance that the word Cat is not 
once mentioned in the whole of the canonical Scriptures, and 
only once in the Apocrypha. 

The Egyptians, as is well known, kept Cats domesticated in 
their houses, a fact which is mentioned by Herodotus, in his 
second book, and the 66th and 67th chapters. After describing 
the various animals which were kept and fed by this nation, he 



THE CAT. 37 

proceeds to narrate the habits of the Cat, and writes as follows : 
" When a fire takes place, a supernatural impulse seizes the 
cats. For the Egyptians, standing at a distance, take care of 
the cats and neglect to quench the fire ; but the cats make 
their escape, and leaping over the men, cast themselves into the 
fire, and when this occurs, great lamentations are made among 
the Egyptians. In whatever house a cat dies of a natural death, 
all the family shave their eyebrows. All cats that die are 
carried to certain sacred houses, where, after being embalmed, 
they are buried in the city of Bubastis." 

Now, as many of those cat-mummies have been discovered in 
good preservation, the species has been identified with the 
Egytian Cat of the present day, which is scientifically termed 
Felis maniculatus. Not only did the Egyptians keep Cats at 
their houses, but, as is shown by certain sculptures, took the 
animals with them when they went bird- catching, and employed 
them in securing their prey. Some persons have doubted this 
statement, saying, that in the first place, the Cat is not possessed 
of sufficient intelligence for the purpose ; and that in the second 
place, as the hunter is represented as catching wild fowl, the Cat 
would not be able to assist him, because it would not enter the 
water. Neither objection is valid, nor would have been made 
by a naturalist. 

There are no grounds whatever for assuming that the Cat has 
not sufficient intelligence to aid its master in hunting. Od the 
contrary, there are many familiar instances where the animal 
has been trained, even in this country, to catch birds and other 
game, and bring its prey home. By nature the Cat is an accom- 
plished hunter, and, like other animals of the same disposition, 
can be taught to use its powers for mankind. We all know that 
the clietah, a member of the same tribe, is in constant use at 
the present day, and we learn from ancient sculptures that the 
lion was employed for the same purpose. Passing from land to 
water, mankind has succeeded in teaching the seal and the otter 
to plunge into the water, catch their finny prey, and deliver it to 
their owners. Among predaceous birds, we have trained the 
eagle, the falcon, and various hawks, to assist us in hunting the 
finned and feathered tribes, while we have succeeded in teaching 
the cormorant to catch fish for its master, and not for itself. 
Why, then, should the Cat be excepted from a rule so general ? 



38 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The fact is, the Oat has been, although domesticated for so 
many centuries, a comparatively neglected animal ; and it is the 
fashion to heap upon it the contumacious epithets of sullen, 
treacherous, selfish, spiteful, and intractable, just as we take as 
our emblems of stupidity the ass and the goose, which are 
really among the most cunning of the lower animals. We have 
never tried to teach the Cat the art of hunting for her owners, 
but that is no reason for asserting that the animal could not be 
taught. 

As to entering the water, every one who is familiar with the 
habits of the Cat knows perfectly well that the Cat will volun- 
tarily enter water in chase of prey. A Cat does not like to wet 
her feet, and will not enter the water without a very powerful 
reason,, but when that motive is supplied, she has no hesitation 
about it. A curious and valuable confirmation of this fact 
appeared some time ago in " The Field " newspaper, in which 
was recorded the history of an old fisherman, whose Cat invari- 
ably went to sea with him, and as invariably used to leap over- 
board, seize fish in her mouth, and bring them to the side of the 
boat, where her kindly owner could lift her out, together with 
the captured fish. 

The Cat, then, having been the favoured companion of the 
Egyptians, among whom the Israelites lived while they multi- 
plied from a family into a nation, it does seem very remark- 
able that the sacred writers should not even mention it. There 
is no prohibition of the animal, even indirectly, in the Mosaic 
law ; but it may be the case that the Israelites repudiated the 
Cat simply because it was so favoured by their former masters. 

The only passage in the Apocrypha is a passing allusion in 
Baruch (vi. 22), where it is said of the idols, that bats and birds 
shall sit on their bodies, and the cats also. That the word is 
rightly translated admits of no doubt, because it is the same 
that is employed by Herodotus in the passage already quoted 



THE DOG. 39 



THE DOG. 

Antipathy displayed by Orientals towards the Dog, and manifested throughout 
the Scriptures — Contrast between European and Oriental Dogs — Habits of the 
Dogs of Palestine — The City Dogs and their singular organization — The herds- 
man's Dog— Various passages of Scripture — Dogs and the crumbs — their 
numbers — Sign or Pierotti's experience of the Dogs — Possibility of their perfect 
domestication — The peculiar humiliation of Lazarus — Voracity of the Wild 
Dogs — The fate of xUiab and Jezebel — Anecdote of a volunteer "Watch-dog — 
Innate affection of the Dog towards mankind Peculiar local Instinct of the 
Oriental Dog — Albert Smith's account of the Dogs at Constantinople — The 
Dervish and his Dogs- The Greyhound — Uncertainty of the word. 

Scarcely changed by the lapse of centuries, the Oriental of the 
present day retains most of the peculiarities which distinguished 
him throughout the long series of years during which the books 
of sacred Scripture were given to the world. In many of these 
characteristics he differs essentially from Europeans of the pre- 
sent day, and exhibits a tone of mind which seems to be not 
merely owing to education, but to be innate and inherent in 
the race. 

One of these remarkable characteristics is the strange loathing 
with which he regards the Dog. In all other parts of the 
world, the Dog is one of the most cherished and valued of 
animals, but among those people whom we popularly class under 
the name of Orientals, the Dog is detested and despised. As the 
sacred books were given to the world through the mediumship 
of Orientals, we lind that this feeling towards the Dog is mani- 
fested whenever the animal is mentioned ; and whether we turn 
to the books of the Law, the splendid poetry of the Psalms and 
the book of Job, the prophetical or the historical portions of the 
Old Testament, we find the name of the Dog repeatedly men- 
tioned ; and in every case in connexion with some repulsive 
idea. If we turn from the Old to the New Testament we find 
the same idea manifested, whether in the Gospels, the Epistles, 
or the Revelation. 



40 &IBLE ANIMALS. 

To the mind of the true Oriental the verv name of the D02 
carries with it an idea of something utterly repugnant to his 
nature, and he does not particularly like even the thought of the 
animal coming across his mind. And this is the more extra- 
ordinary, because at the commencement and termination of 
their history the Dog was esteemed by their masters. The 
Egyptians, under whose rule they grew to be a nation, knew 
the value of the Dog, and showed their appreciation in the many 
works of art which have survived to our time. Then the 
Romans, under whose iron grasp the last vestiges of nationality 
crumbled away, honoured and respected the Dog, made it their 
companion, and introduced its portrait into their houses. But, 
true to their early traditions, the Jews of the East have ever held 
the Dog in the same abhorrence as is manifested by their present 
masters, the followers of Mahommed. 

Owing to the prevalence of this feeling, the Dogs of Oriental 
towns are so unlike their more fortunate European relatives, that 
they can hardly be recognised as belonging to the same species. 
In those lands the traveller finds that there is none of the 
wonderful variety which so distinguishes the Dog of Europe. 
There he will never see the bluff, sturdy, surly, faithful mastiff, 
the slight gazelle-like greyhound, the sharp, intelligent terrier, 
the silent, courageous bulldog, the deep-voiced, tawny blood- 
hound, the noble Newfoundland, the clever, vivacious poodle, or 
the gentle, silken-haired spaniel. 

As he traverses the streets, he finds that all the dogs are 
alike, and that all are gaunt, hungry, half starved, savage, and 
cowardly, more like wolves than dogs, and quite as ready as 
wolves to attack when they fancy they can do so with safety. 
They prowl about the streets in great numbers, living, as they 
best can, on any scraps of food that they may happen to find. 
They have no particular masters, and no particular homes. 
Charitable persons will sometimes feed them, but will never 
make companions of them, feeling that the very contact of a dog 
would be a pollution. They are certainly useful animals, be- 
cause they act as scavengers, and will eat almost any animal 
substance that comes in their way. 

The strangest part of their character is the organization which 
prevails amon^ them. By some extraordinary means they divide 
the town into districts, and not one dog ever ventures out of 



THE DOG. 41 

that particular district to which it is attached. The boundaries, 
although invisible, are as effectual as the loftiest wails, and not 
even the daintiest morsel will tempt a dog to pass the myste- 
rious line which forms the boundary of his district. Generally, 
these bands of dogs are so savage that any one who is obliged to 
walk in a district where the dogs do not know him is forced to 
carry a stout stick for his protection. Like their European rela- 
tives, they have great dislike towards persons who are dressed 
after a fashion to which they are unaccustomed, and therefore 
are sure to harass any one who comes from Europe and wears 
the costume of his own country. As is customary among 
animals which unite themselves in troops, each band is under the 
command of a single leader, whose position is recognised and his 
authority acknowledged by all the members. 

These peculiarities are to be seen almost exclusively in the 
dogs which run wild about the towns, because there is abundant 
evidence in the Scriptures that the animal was used in a 
partially domesticated state, certainly for the protection of their 
herds, and possibly for the guardianship of their houses. That 
the Dog was employed for the first of these purposes is shown 
in Job xxx. i : " But now they that are younger than 1 have me 
in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set 
with the dogs of my flock." And that the animal was used for 
the protection of houses is thought by some commentators to be 
shown by the well-known passage in Is. lvi. 10 : " His watch- 
men are blind : they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, 
they cannot bark ; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber." 
Still, it is very probable that in this passage the reference is not 
made to houses, but to the flocks and herds which these watch- 
men ought to have guarded. 

The rooted dislike and contempt felt by the Israelites towards 
the Dog is seen in numerous passages. Even in that sentence 
from Job which has just been quoted, wherein the writer pas- 
sionately deplores the low condition into which he has fallen, 
and contrasts it with his former high estate, he complains that 
he is despised by those whose fathers he held even in less esteem 
than the dogs which guarded his herds. There are several re- 
ferences to the Dog in the books of Samuel, in all of which the 
name; of the animal is mentioned contemptuously. For example, 
when David accepted the challenge of Goliath, and went to 



42 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

meet his gigantic enemy without the ordinary protection of 
mail, and armed only with a sling and his shepherd's staff, 
Goliath said to him, " Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with 
staves 'i " (1 Sam. xvii. 43.) And in the same book, chapter 
xxiv. 14, David remonstrates with Saul for pursuing so insig- 
nificant a person as himself, and said, " After whom is the King 
of Israel come out ? after a dead dog, after a flea. " 

The same metaphor is recorded in the second book of the 
same writer. Once it was employed by Mephibosheth, the lame 
son of Jonathan, when extolling the generosity of David, then 
King of Israel in the place of his grandfather Saul : " And he 
bowed himself, and said, ' What is thy servant, that thou 
sbouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am ? ' " (2 Sam. ix. 8.) 
In the same book, chapter xvi. 9, Abishai applies this contemp- 
tuous epithet to Shimei, who was exulting over the troubled 
monarch with all the insolence of a cowardly nature, " Why 
should this dead dog curse my lord the king ? " Abner also 
makes use of a similar expression, " Am I a dog's head ? " And 
we may also refer to the familiar passage in 2 Kings viii. 13. 
Elisha had prophesied to Hazael that he would become king on 
the death of Ben-hadad, and that he would work terrible mis- 
chief in the land. Horrified at these predictions, or at all events 
pretending to be so, he replied, " But what, is thy servant a dog, 
that he should do this great thing ? " 

If we turn from the Old to the New Testament, we find the 
same contemptuous feeling displayed towards the Dog. It is 
mentioned as an intolerable aggravation of the sufferings endured 
by Lazarus the beggar as he lay at the rich man's gate, that the 
dogs came and licked his sores. In several passages, the word 
Dog is employed as a metaphor for scoffers, or unclean persons, 
or sometimes for those who did not belong to the Church, 
whether Jewish or Christian. In the Sermon on the Mount 
our Lord himself uses this image, " Give not that which is holy 
unto dogs " (Matt. vii. 6.) In the same book, chapter xv. 26, 
Jesus employs the same metaphor when speaking to the 
Canaanitish woman who had come to ask him to heal her 
daughter : " It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast 
it to (logs.'' And that she understood the meaning of the words 
is evident from her answer, in which faith and humility are so 
admirably blended. Both St. Paul and St. John employ the 



THE DOG. 43 

word Dog in the same sense. In his epistle to the Philippians, 
chapter iii. 2, St. Paul writes, "Beware of dogs,. beware of evil 
workers." And in the Eevelation, chapter xxii. 14, these words 
occur : " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the 
gates to the city ; for without are dogs, and sorcerers, and 
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whomsoever 
loveth ami maketh a lie." 

That the dogs of ancient times formed themselves into bands 
just as they do at present is evident from many passages of 
Scripture, among which may be mentioned those sentences from 
the Psalms, wherein David is comparing the assaults of his 
enemies to the attacks of the dogs which infested the city. 
" Thou hast brought me into the dust of death ; for dogs have 
compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me-" 
This passage will be better appreciated when the reader has 
perused the following extract from a recent work by Signor 
Pierotti. After giving a general account of the Dogs of Pales- 
tine and their customs, he proceeds as follows : — 

" In Jerusalem, and in the other towns, the dogs have an 
organization of their own. They are divided into families and 
districts, especially in the night time, and no one of them 
ventures to quit his proper quarter ; for if he does, he is imme- 
diately attacked by all the denizens of that into which he 
intrudes, and is driven back, with several bites as a reminder. 
Therefore, when an European is walking through Jerusalem by 
night, he is always followed by a number of canine attendants, 
and greeted at every step with growls and howls. These tokens 
of dislike, however, are not intended for him, but for his 
followers, who are availing themselves of his escort to pass 
unmolested from one quarter to another. 

"During the hard winter of 1859, 1 fed many of the dogs, who 
frequented the road which I traversed almost every evening, and 
afterwards, each time that I passed, 1 received the homage not 
only of the individuals, but of the whole band to which they 
belonged, for they accompanied me to the limits of their respec- 
tive jurisdictions and were ready to follow me to my own house, 
if 1 did but give them a sign of encouragement, coming at my 
beck from any distance. They even recollected the signal in 
1861, though it was but little that I had given them." 



44 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The account which this experienced writer gives of the animal 
presents a singular mixture of repulsive and pleasing traits, 
the latter being attributable to the true nature of the Dog, and 
the former to the utter neglect with which it is treated. He 
remarks that the dogs which run wild in the cities of Palestine 
are ill-favoured, ill-scented, and ill-conditioned beasts, more like 
jackals or wolves than dogs, and covered with scars, which 
betoken their quarelsome nature. Yet, the same animals lose 
their wild, savage disposition, as soon as any human being 
endeavours to establish that relationship which was evidently 
intended to exist between man and the dog. How readily even 
these despised and neglected animals respond to the slightest 
advance, has been already shown by Sig. Pierotti's experience, 
and there is no doubt that these tawny, short-haired, wolf-like 
animals, could be trained as perfectly as their more favoured 
brethren of the western world. 

As in the olden times, so at the present day, the clogs lie 
about in the streets, dependent for their livelihood upon the offal 
that is flung into the roads, or upon the chance morsels that may 
be thrown to them. An allusion to this custom is made in the 
well-known passage in Matt. xv. The reader will remember the 
circumstance that a woman of Canaan, and therefore not an 
Israelite, came to Jesus, and begged him to heal her daughter, 
who was vexed with a devil. Then, to try her faith, He said, " It 
is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." 
And she said, " Truth, Lord : yet the dogs eat of the crumbs 
which fall from their master's table." Now, the " crumbs " which 
are here mentioned are the broken pieces of bread which were 
used at table, much as bread is sometimes used in eating fish. 
The form of the " loaves " being flat, and much like that of the 
oat-cake of this country, adapted them well to the purpose. 
The same use of broken bread is alluded to in the parable of* 
Lazarus, who desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from 
the rich man's table, i. e. to partake of the same food as the dogs 
which swarmed round him and licked his sores. Thus we see 
that Lazarus was supposed to have undergone the very worst 
indignities to which poverty could bring a man, and the contrast 
between himself and the other personage "of the parable receives 
additional strength. 

The " crumbs," however liberally distributed, would not nearly 



THE DOG. 45 

suffice for the subsistence of the canine armies, and their chief 
support consists of the offal, which is rather too plentifully flung 
into the streets. The Dogs of Palestine are, indeed, much like 
hyaenas of certain African towns, and act as scavengers, devour- 
ing any animal substance that may fall in their way. If the 
body of any animal, not excluding their own kind, be found 
lying in the streets, the dogs will assemble round it, and tear it 
to pieces, and they have no scruples even in devouring a human 
body. Of course, owing to the peculiar feeling entertained by 
the Orientals towards the Dog, no fate can be imagined more 
repulsive to the feelings of humanity than to be eaten by dogs ; 
and therein lies the terror of the fate which was prophesied of 
Ahab and Jezebel. Moreover, the blood, even of the lower 
animals, was held in great sanctity, and it was in those days 
hardly possible to invoke a more, dreadful fate upon any one 
than that his blood should be lapped by dogs. 

We lose much of the real force of the Scriptures, if we do not 
possess some notion of the manners and customs of Palestine 
and the neighbouring countries, as well as of the tone of mind 
prevalent among the inhabitants. In our own country, that any 
one should be eaten by dogs would be a fate so contrary to 
usage, that we can hardly conceive its possibility, and such a 
fate would be out of the ordinary course of events. But, if such 
a fate should happen to befall any one, we should have no 
stronger feeling of pity than the natural regret that the dead 
person was not buried with Christian rites. 

But, with the inhabitants of Palestine, such an event was by 
no means unlikely. It was, and is still, the custom to bury the 
corpse almost as soon as life has departed, and such would 
ordinarily have been the case with the dead body of Jezebel. 
But. through fear of the merciless Jehu, by whose command she 
had been flung from the window of her own palace, no one 
dared to remove her mangled body. The dogs, therefore, seized 
upon their prey ; and, even before Jehu had risen from the 
banquet with which he celebrated his deed, nothing was left of 
the body but the skull, the feet, and the hands. 

In Mr. Tristram's work, the author has recognised the true 
dog nature, though concealed behind an uninviting form : " Our 
watch-dog, Beirut, attached himself instinctively to Wilhelm, 
though his canine instinct soon taught him to recognise every 



46 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

one of our party of fourteen, and to cling to the tents, whether 
in motion or at rest, as his home. Poor Beirut ! though the 
veriest pariah in appearance, thy plebeian form encased as noble 
a dog-heart as ever beat at the sound of a stealthy step." 

The same author records a very remarkable example of the 
sagacity of the native Dog, and the fidelity with which it will 
keep guard over the property of its master. " The guard-house 
provided us, unasked, with an invaluable and vigilant sentry, 
who was never relieved, nor ever quitted the post of duty. The 
poor Turkish conscript, like every other soldier in the world, is 
fond of pets, and in front of the grim turret that served for a 
guard-house was a collection of old orange-boxes and crates, 
thickly peopled with a garrison of dogs of low degree, whose 
attachment to the spot was certainly not purchased by the 
loaves and fishes which fell *to their lot. 

" One of the family must indeed have had hard times, for she 
had a family of no less than five dependent on her exertions, 
and on the superfluities of the sentries' mess. With a sagacity 
almost more than canine, the poor gaunt creature had scarcely 
seen oar tents pitched before she came over with all her litter 
and deposited them in front of our tent. At once she scanned 
the features of every member of the encampment, and introduced 
herself to our notice. During the week of our stay, she never 
quitted her post, or attempted any depredation on our kitchen- 
tent, which might have led to her banishment. Night and day 
she proved a faithful and vigilant sentry, permitting no stranger, 
human or canine, European or Oriental, to approach the tents 
without permission, but keeping on the most familiar terms with 
ourselves and our servants. 

"On the morning of our departure, no sooner had she seen our 
camp struck, than she conveyed her puppies back to their old 
quarters in the orange-box, and no intreaties or bribes could 
induce her to accompany us. On three subsequent visits to 
Jerusalem, the same dog acted in a similar way, though no 
longer embarrassed by family cares, and would on no account 
permit any strange dog, nor even her companions at the guard- 
house, to approach within the tent ropes." 

After perusing this account of the Dog of Palestine, two 
points strike the reader. The first is the manner in which the 
Dog, in spite of all the social disadvantages under which it 



THE DOG. 47 

labours, displays one of the chief characteristics of canine 
nature, namely, the yearning after human society. The animal 
in question had already attached herself to the guard-house, 
where she could meet with some sort of human converse, though 
the inborn prejudices of the Moslem would prevent the soldiers 
from inviting her to associate with them, as would certainly 
have been done by European soldiers. She nestled undisturbed 
in the orange-box, and, safe under the protection of the guard, 
brought up her young family in their immediate neighbour- 
hood. But, as soon as Europeans arrived, her instinct told her 
that they would be closer associates than the Turkish soldiers 
who were quartered in the guard-house, and accordingly she 
removed herself and her family to the shelter of their tents. 

Herein she carried out the leading principle of a dog's nature. 
A dog must have a master, or at all - events a mistress, and just 
in proportion as he is free from human control, does he become 
less dog-like and more wolf-like. In fact, familiar intercourse 
with mankind is an essential part of a dog's true character, and 
the animal seems to be so well aware of this fact, that he will 
always contrive to find a master of some sort, and will endure a 
life of cruel treatment at the hands of a brutal owner rather 
than have no master at all. 

The second point in this account is the singular local instinct 
which characterises the Dogs of Palestine and other eastern 
countries, and which is as much inbred in them as the faculty 
of marking game in the pointer, the combative nature in the 
bulldog, the exquisite scent in the bloodhound, and the love of 
water in the Newfoundland dog. In England, we fancy that 
the love of locality belongs especially to the cat, and that the 
Dog cares little for place, and much for man. But, in this case, 
we find that the local instinct overpowered the yearning for 
human society. Eond as was this dog of her newly-found 
friends, and faithful as she was in her self-imposed service, she 
would not follow them away from the spot where she had been 
born, and where she had produced her own young. 

This curious love for locality has evidently been derived 
from the traditional custom of successive generations, which has 
passed from the realm of reason into that of instinct. The 
reader will remember that Sig. Pierotti mentions an instance 
where the do^s which he had been accustomed to feed would 



48 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

follow him as far as the limits of their particular district, but 
would go no farther. The late Albert Smith, in his " Month at 
Constantinople," gives a similar example of this characteristic. 
He first describes the general habits of the dogs. 

On the first night of his arrival, he could not sleep, and went 
to the window to look out in the night. " The noise I heard then 
I shall never forget. To say that if all the sheep-dogs, in going 
to Smithfield on a market-day,, had been kept on the constant 
bark, and pitted against the yelping curs upon all the carts 
in London, they could have given any idea of the canine uproar 
that now first astonished me, would be to make the feeblest of 
images. The whole city rang with one vast riot. Down below 
me, at Tophane" — over- about Stamboul— far away at Scutari — 
the whole sixty thousand dogs that are said to overrun Con- 
stantinople appeared engaged in the most active extermination 
of each other, without a moment's cessation. The yelping, howl- 
ing, barking, growling, and snarling, were all merged into one 
uniform and continuous even sound, as the noise of frogs 
becomes when heard at a distance. For hours there was no 
lull. I went to sleep, and woke again, and still, with my win- 
dows open, 1 heard the same tumult going on ; nor was it until 
daybreak that anything like tranquillity was restored. 

'" Going out in the daytime, it is not difficult to find traces of 
the fights of the night about the limbs of all the street dogs. 
There is not one, among their vast number, in the possession of 
a perfect skin. Some have their ears gnawed away or pulled off ; 
others have their eyes taken out ; from the backs and haunches 
of others perfect steaks of flesh had been torn away; and all 
bear the scars of desperate combats. 

" Wild and desperate as is their nature, these poor animals 
are susceptible of kindness. If a scrap. of bread is thrown to 
one of them now and then, he does not forget it ; for they have, 
at times, a hard matter to live — not the dogs amongst the shops 
of G-alata or Stamboul, but those whose ' parish ' lies in the large 
burying-grounds and desert places without the city ; for each 
keeps, or rather is kept, to his district, and if he chanced to 
venture into a strange one, the odds against his return would be 
very large. One battered old animal, to whom I used occa- 
sionally to toss a scrap of food, always followed me from the 
hotel to the cross street in Pera, where the two soldiers stood on 




"At evening let them return: and let them make a noise like a .log. and so round aboul 
the city Let them wander- up and down for meat and grudge if they be not 

1'S.M.M II X. 14. 15 



satisfied." 



THE DOG. 49 

guard, but would never come beyond this point. He knew the 
fate that awaited him had he done so ; and therefore, when I 
left him, he would lie down in the road, and go to sleep until 
I came back. 

" When a horse or camel dies, and is left about the roads neai 
the city, the bones are soon picked very clean by these dogs, 
and they will carry the skulls or pelves to great distances. I was 
told that they will eat their dead fellows — a curious fact, I 
believe, in canine economy. They are always troublesome, not 
to say dangerous, at night ; and are especially irritated by 
Europeans, whom they will single out amongst a crowd of 
Levantines." 

In the same work there is a short description of a solitary 
dervish, who had made his home in the hollow of a large plane- 
tree, in front of which he sat, surrounded by a small fence of 
stakes only a foot or so in height. Around him, but not ven- 
turing within the fence, were a number of gaunt, half-starved 
dogs, who prowled about him in hopes of having an occasional 
morsel of food thrown to them. Solitary as he was, and scanty 
as must have been the nourishment which he could afford to 
them, the innate trustfulness of the dog-nature induced them 
to attach themselves to human society of some sort, though their 
master was one, and they were many — he was poor, and they 
were hungry. 

Once in the Scriptures the word Greyhound occurs, namely, in 
Prov. xxx. 29-31 : "There be three things which go well, yea., 
four are comely in going : a lion, which is strongest among 
beasts, and turneth not away for any ; a greyhound ; an he-goat 
also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up." But the 
word " Greyhound" is only employed conjecturally, inasmuch as 
the signification of the Hebrew word Zarzir-mathndim is " one 
girt about the loins." Some commentators have thought that the 
horse might be signified by this word, and that the girding about 
the loins referred to the trappings with which all Easterns love 
to decorate their steeds. Probably, however, the word in ques- 
tion refers neither to a horse nor a dog, but to a human athlete, 
or wrestler, stripped, and girt about the loins ready for the 
contest. 



50 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE WOLF. 

Identity of the animal indisputable — its numbers, past and present — The Wolf 
never mentioned directly — its general habits — References in Scripture — its 
mingled ferocity and cowardice — its association into packs — The Wolf's bite — 
How it takes its prey— its ravages among the flocks — Allusions to this habit — 
The shepherd and his nightly enemies — Mr. Tristram and the Wolf— A semi 
tamed Wolf at Marsaba. 

There is no doubt that the Hebrew word Zeeb, which occurs in 
a few passages of the Old Testament, is rightly translated as 
Wolf, and signifies the same animal as is frequently mentioned 
in the New Testament. 

This fierce and dangerous animal was formerly very plentiful 
in Palestine, but is now much less common, owing to the same 
causes which have extirpated the lion from the country. It is a 
rather remarkable fact, that in no passage of Holy Writ is the 
Wolf directly mentioned. Its name is used as a symbol of a 
fierce and treacherous enemy, but neither in the Old nor New 
Testament does any sacred writer mention any act as performed 
by the Wolf. We have already heard of the lion which attacked 
Samson and was killed by him, of the lion which slew the dis- 
obedient prophet, and of the lions which spared Daniel when 
thrown into their den. We also read of the dogs which licked 
Ahab's blood, and ate the body of Jezebel, also of the bears 
which tore the mocking children. 

But in no case is the Wolf mentioned, except in a meta- 
phorical sense ; and this fact is the more remarkable, because the 
animals were so numerous that they were very likely to have 
exercised some influence on a history extending over such a 
lengthened range of years, and limited to so small a portion of 
the earth. Yet we never hear of the Wolf attacking any of the 
personages mentioned in Scripture ; and although we are told of 
the exploit of David, who pursued a lion and a bear that had 
taken a lamb out of his fold, we are never told of any similar 
deed in connexion with the Wolf. 



THE WOLF. 



51 



This animal was then what it is now. Seldom seen by clay, 
it lies hidden in its covert as long as the light lasts, and steals 
out in search of prey in the evening. This custom of the Wolf 
is mentioned in several passages of Holy Scripture, such as that 
in Jer. v. 5, 6 : "These have altogether broken the yoke, and 
burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay 
them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them." In this 
passage the reader will see that the rebellious Israelites are 




THE WOLF. 

• The wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep." — John x. 12. 



compared to restive draught cattle which have broken away from 
their harness and run loose, so that they are deprived of the 
protection of their owners, and exposed to the fury of wild 
beasts. A similar reference is made in Hab. i. 8 : " Their horses 
also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the 
evening wolves." The same habit of the Wolf is alluded to in 



52 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Zeph. iii. 3 : " Her princes within her are roaring lions : her 
judges are evening wolves." 

Individually, the Wolf is rather a timid animal. It will avoid 
a man rather than meet him. It prefers to steal upon its pre> 
and take it unawares, rather than to seize it openly and boldly. 
It is ever suspicious of treachery, and is always imagining that a 
trap is laid for it. Even the shallow device of a few yards of 
rope trailing from any object, or a strip of cloth fluttering in the 
breeze, is quite sufficient to keep the Wolf at bay for a consider- 
able time. This fact is well known to hunters, who are accus- 
tomed to secure the body of a slain deer by simply tying a strip 
of cloth to its horn. If taken in a trap of any kind, or even if 
it fancies itself in an enclosure from which it can find no egress, 
it loses all courage, and will submit to be killed without offering 
the least resistance. It will occasionally endeavour to effect its 
escape by feigning death, and has more than once been known to 
succeed in this device. 

But, collectively, the Wolf is one of the most dangerous 
animals that can be found. Herding together in droves when 
pressed by hunger, the wolves will openly hunt prey, performing 
this task as perfectly as a pack of trained hounds. Full of wiles 
themselves, they are craftily wise in anticipating the wiles of 
the animals which they pursue ; and even in full chase, while the 
body of the pack is following on the footsteps of the flying 
animal, one or two are detached on the flanks, so as to cut it off 
rf it should attempt to escape by doubling on its pursuers. 

There is no animal which a herd of wolves will not attack, 
and very few which they will not ultimately secure. Strength 
avails nothing against the numbers of these savage foes, which 
give no moment of rest, but incessantly assail their antagonist, 
dashing by instinct at those parts of the body which can be 
least protected, and lacerating with their peculiar short, snapping 
bite. Should several of their number be killed or disabled, it 
makes no difference to the wolves, except that a minute or two 
are wasted in devouring their slain or wounded brethren, and 
they only return to the attack the more excited by the taste of 
blood. Swiftness of foot avails nothing against the tireless per- 
severance of the wolves, who press on in their peculiar, long, 
slinging gallop, and in the end are sure to tire out the swifter 
footed but lens enduring animal that flees before them. The 



THE WOLF. 53 

stately buffalo is conquered by the ceaseless assaults of the 
wolves ; the bear has been forced to succumb to them, and the 
fleet-footed stag finds his swift limbs powerless to escape the 
pursuing band, and his branching horns unable to resist their 
furious onset when once they overtake him. 

In the passage from Habakkuk which has already been 
quoted, allusion is made to the ferocity of the Wolf, and the 
same characteristic is mentioned in several other parts of Scrip- 
ture. Take, for example, Gen. xiix. 27 : " Benjamin shall ravin 
as a wolf : in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night 
he shall divide the spoil." Or the passage in Ezekiel xxii. 27 : 
" Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the 
prey, to shed blood." Or the well-known metaphor of our Lord 
in Matt. vii. 15 : " Beware of false prophets, which come to you 
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." 

That the Wolf is a special enemy to the sheep-fold is shown 
in many parts of the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Tes- 
taments, especially in the latter. In John x. 1-16, Jesus com- 
pares himself to a good shepherd, who watches over the fold, 
and, if the wolves should come to take the sheep, would rather 
give up His life than they should succeed. But the false teachers 
are compared to bad shepherds, hired for money, but having no 
interest in the sheep, and who therefore will not expose them- 
selves to danger in defence of their charge. 

This metaphor was far more effective in Palestine, and at that 
time, than it is in this country and at the present day. In this 
land, the shepherd has no anxiety about the inroads of wild 
beasts, but in Palestine one of his chief cares was to keep w T atch 
at night lest the w 7 olves should attack the fold, and to drive them 
away himself in case they should do so. Therefore the shep- 
herd's life was one which involved no small danger as well as 
anxiety, and the metaphor used by our Lord gains additional 
force from the knowledge of this fact. 

A similar metaphor is used when Jesus wished to express in 
forcible terms the dangers to which the chosen seventy would 
oft be subjected; and the impossibility that they should be able 
to overcome the many perils with which they would be sur- 
rounded. " Go your ways : behold. I send you forth as lambs 
pmong wolves " (Luke x. 3). 

The well-known fact of the ravages of wolves among sheep has 



54 BTBLE ANIMALS. 

been employed by the prophet Isaiah in two passages, wherein 
he foretells the peaceful state of the world when the kingdom of 
the Messiah shall have been established : " The wolf also shall 
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with th^ 
kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together ; 
and a little child shall lead them " (Is xi. 6). The second passage 
occurs in chapter lxv. 23-25, and is of a similar character : " They 
shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they 
are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with 
them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
answer ; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf 
and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like 
the bullock : and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall 
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." 

Mr. Tristram several times met wolves while he was engaged 
in his travels, and mostly saw solitary specimens. One such 
encounter took place in the wilderness of Judah : " On my way 
back, I met a fine solitary wolf, who watched me very coolly, at 
the distance of sixty yards, while I drew my charge and dropped 
a bullet down the barrel. Though I sent the ball into a rock 
between his legs as he stood looking at me in the wady, he was 
not sufficiently alarmed to do more than move on a little more 
quickly, ever and anon turning to look at me, while gradually 
increasing his distance. Darkness compelled me to desist from 
the chase, when he quietly turned and followed me at a respect- 
ful distance. He was a magnificent animal, larger than any 
FAiropean wolf, and of a much lighter colour." 

Those who are acquainted with the character of the animal 
will appreciate the truthfulness of this description. The cautious 
prowl at a distance, the slow trot away when he fancied he 
might be attacked, the reverted look, and the final turning back 
and following at a respectful distance, are all characteristic traits 
of the Wolf, no matter to what species it may belong, nor what 
country it may inhabit. 

On another occasion, while riding in the open plain of Gen- 
nesaret, the horse leaped over the bank of a little ditch, barely 
three feet in depth. After the horse had passed, and not until 
then, a Wolf started out of the ditch, literally from under the 
horses hoofs, and ran off. The animal had been crouching under 
the little bank, evidently watching for some cows and calves 



THE FOX OR JACKAL. 55 

which were grazing at a short distance, under the chaige of a 
Bedouin boy. The same author mentions that one of the monks 
beloDging to the monastery at Marsaba had contrived to render a 
Wolf almost tame. Every evening at six o'clock the Wolf came 
regularly across the ravine, had a piece of bread, and then went 
back again. With the peculiar jealousy of all tamed animals, 
the Wolf would not suffer any of his companions to partake of 
his good fortune. Several of them would sometimes accompany 
him, but as soon as they came under the wall of the monastery 
he always drove them away. 

The inhabitants of Palestine say that the Wolves of that 
country are not gregarious, and that they hunt singly, or at most 
in little packs of few in number. Still they dread the animal 
exceedingly, and say that one Wolf will do more damage in a 
flock of sheep than a whole pack of jackals. 

As a general rule, the Syrian wolf, like the Syrian bear, is of 
a lighter colour than its European relatives, and appears to be a 
larger and stronger animal. 



THE FOX OK JACKAL. 

The two animals comprehended under one name — The Jackal — its numbers in 
ancient and modern Palestine — General habits of the Jackal — Localities where 
the Jackal is found— Samson, and the three hundred "foxes" — Popular 
objections to the narrative — The required number easily obtained — Signor 
Pierotti's remarks upon the Jackal— An unpleasant position — How the fields 
were set on fire — The dread of fire inherent in wild beasts — The truth of the 
narrative proved — The Fox and Jackal destructive among grapes — Allusions 
to the Fox in the New Testament — Partially tamed Foxes. 

There are several passages in the Old Testament in which the 
word Fox occurs, and it is almost certain that the Hebrew word 
Shudl, which is rendered in our translation as Fox, is used rather 
loosely, and refers in some places to the Jackal, and in others to 



56 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



the Fox. We will first take those passages in which the former 
rendering of the word is evidently the right one, and will begin 
by examining those characteristics of the animal which afford 
grounds for such an assertion. 

Even at the present time, the Jackal is extremely plentiful in 
Palestine ; and as the numbers of wild beasts have much de- 
creased in modern days, the animals must have been even more 




THE FOX OR JACKAL. 

'They shall be a portion for foxes."— Psalm lxiii. 10. 



The end of the Scape Goat. 



numerous than they are at present. It is an essentially noc- 
turnal and gregarious animal. During the whole of the day the 
Jackals lie concealed in their holes or hiding-places, which are 
usually cavities in the rocks, in tombs, or among ruins. At 
nightfall they issue from their dens, and form themselves into 
packs, often consisting of several hundred individuals, and prowl 
about in search of food. Carrion of various kinds forms their 






THE FOX OR JACKAL. 57 

chief subsistence, and they perform in the country much the 
same task as is fulfilled by the dogs in the cities. 

If any animal should be killed, or even severely wounded, the 
Jackals are sure to find it out and to devour it before the day- 
break. They will scent out the track of the hunter, and feed 
upon the offal of the beasts which he has slain. If the body of 
a human being were to be left on the ground, the Jackals would 
certainly leave but little traces of it ; and in the olden times of 
warfare, they must have held high revelry in the battle-field 
after the armies had retired. It is to this propensity of the 
Jackal that David refers — himself a man of war, who had 
fought on many a battle-field, and must have seen the carcases 
of the slain mangled by these nocturnal prowlers : " Those that 
seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the 
earth. They shall fall by the sword ; they shall be a portion for 
foxes " (Ps. lxiii. 9, 10). Being wild beasts, afraid of man, and 
too cowardly to attack him even when rendered furious by 
hunger, and powerful by force of numbers, they keep aloof from 
towns and cities, and live in the uninhabited parts of the 
country. Therefore the prophet Jeremiah, in his Book of 
Lamentations, makes use of the following forcible image, when 
deploring the pitiful state into which Judaea had fallen : " For 
this our heart is faint ; for these things our eyes are dim : 
because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes 
walk upon it " (Lam. v. 17). And Ezekiel makes use of a similar 
image : " Israel, thy prophets are like foxes in the desert." 

But, by far the most important passage in which the Fox 
is mentioned, is that wherein is recorded the grotesque 
vengeance of Samson upon the Philistines : " And Samson went 
and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned 
tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 
And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the 
standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks 
and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives" 
(Judges xv. 4, 5). Now, as this is one of the passages of Holy Writ 
to which great objections have been taken, it will be as well to 
examine these objections, and see whether they have any real 
for^e. The first of these objections is, that the number of foxes 
is far too great to have been caught at one time, and to this 
objection two answers have been given. The first answer is, that 



58 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

they need not have been caught at once, but by degrees, and 
kept until wanted. But the general tenor of the narrative is 
undoubtedly in favour of the supposition that this act of Samson 
was unpremeditated, and that it was carried into operation at 
once, before his anger had cooled. The second answer is, that 
the requisite number of Foxes might have been miraculously 
sent to Samson for this special purpose. This theory is really 
so foolish and utterly untenable, that I only mention it because 
it has been put forward. It fails on two grounds : the first 
being that a miracle would hardly have been wrought to enable 
Samson to revenge himself in so cruel and unjustifiable a 
manner ; and the second, that there was not the least necessity 
for any miracle at all. 

If we put out of our minds the idea of the English Fox, an 
animal comparatively scarce in this country, and solitary in its 
habits, and substitute the extremely plentiful and gregarious 
Jackal, wandering in troops by night, and easily decoyed by 
hunger into a trap, we shall see that double the number might 
have been taken, if needful. Moreover, it is not to be imagined 
that Samson caught them all with his own hand. He was at 
the head of his people, and had many subordinates at his 
command, so that a large number of hunters might have been 
employed simultaneously in the capture. In corroboration of 
this point, I insert an extremely valuable extract from Signor 
Pierotti's work, in which he makes reference to this very portion 
of the sacred history : — 

" It is still very abundant near Gaza, Askalon, Ashdod, Ekron, 
and Eamleh. I have frequently met with it during my wan- 
derings by night, and on one occasion had an excellent oppor- 
tunity of appreciating their number and their noise. 

" One evening in the month of January 1857, while it was 
raining a perfect deluge, I was obliged, owing to the dangerous 
illness of a friend, to return from Jerusalem to Jaffa The depth 
of snow on the road over a great part of the mountain, the 
clayey mud in the plain, and the darkness of the night, pre- 
vented my advancing quickly ; so that about half-past three in 
the morning I arrived on the bank of a small torrent, about 
half an hour's journey to the east of Eamleh. I wished to 
cross : my horse at first refused, but, on my spurring it, ad- 
vanced and at once sank up to the breast, followed of course by 



THE FOX OR JACKAL 59 

my legs, thus teaching me to respect the instinct of an Arab 
horse for the future. 

" There I stuck, without the possibility of escape, and consoled 
my horse and myself with some provisions that I had in my 
saddle-bags, shouting and singing at intervals, in the hope of 
obtaining succour, and of preventing accidents, as I knew that 
the year before a mule in the same position had been mistaken 
for a wild beast, and killed. The darkness was profound, and 
the wind very high ; but, happily, it was not cold ; for the only 
things attracted by my calls were numbers of jackals, who 
remained at a. certain distance from me, and responded to my 
cries, especially when I tried to imitate them, as though they 
took me for their music- master. 

" About five o'clock, one of the quards of the English con- 
sulate at Jerusalem came from Ramleh and discovered my state. 
He charitably returned thither, and brought some men, who 
extricated me and my horse from our unpleasant bath, which, as 
may be supposed, was not beneficial to our legs. 

" During this most uncomfortable night, I had good oppor- 
tunity of ascertaining that, if another Samson had wished to 
burn again the crops in the country of the Philistines, he would 
have had no difficulty in finding more than three hundred 
jackals, and catching as many as he wanted in springs, traps, 
or pitfalls. (See Ps. cxl. 5)" 

The reader will now see that there was not the least difficulty 
in procuring the requisite number, of animals, and that con- 
sequently the first objection to the truth of the story is dis- 
posed of. 

We will now proceed to the second objection, which is, that if 
the animals were tied tail to tail, they would remain on or near 
the same spot, because they would pull in different directions, 
and that, rather than run about, they would turn round and 
fight each other. Now, in the first place, we are nowhere told 
that the tails of the foxes, or jackals, were placed in contact with 
each other, and it is probable that some little space was left 
between them. That animals so tied would not run in a straight 
line is evident enough, and this was exactly the effect which 
Samson wished to produce. Had they been at liberty, and the 
fiery brand fastened to their tails, they would have run straight 
to their dens, and produced but little effect. But their captor, 



60 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

with cruel ingenuity, had foreseen this contingency, and, by 
the method of securing them which he adopted, forced them to 
pursue a devious course, each animal trying to escape from the 
dreaded firebrand, and struggling in vain endeavours to drag its 
companion towards its own particular den. 

All wild animals have an instinctive dread of fire ; and there 
is none, not even the fierce and courageous lion, that dares -enter 
within the glare of the bivouac fire. A lion has even been 
struck in the face with a burning brand, and has not ventured 
to attack the man that wielded so dreadful a weapon. Conse- 
quently it may be imagined that the unfortunate animals that 
were used by Samson for his vindictive purpose, must have been 
filled with terror at the burning brands which they dragged after 
them, and the blaze of the fire which was kindled wherever 
they went. They would have no leisure to fight, and would only 
think of escaping from the dread and unintelligible enemy which 
pursued them. 

When a prairie takes fire, all the wild inhabitants flee in 
terror, and never think of attacking each other, so that the bear, 
the wolf, the cougar, the deer, and the wild swine, may all be 
seen huddled together, their natural antagonism quelled in the 
presence of a common foe. So it must have been with the 
miserable animals which were made the unconscious instruments 
of destruction. That they would stand still when a burning 
brand was between them, and when flames sprang up around 
them, is absurd. That they would pull in exactly opposite 
directions w T ith precisely balanced force is equally improbable, 
and it is therefore evident that they would pursue a devious 
path, the stronger of the two dragging the weaker, but being 
jerked out of a straight course and impeded by the resistance 
which it would offer. That they would stand on the same spot 
and fight has been shown to be contrary to the custom of 
animals under similar circumstances. 

Thus it will be seen that every objection not only falls to the 
ground, but carries its own refutation, thus vindicating this 
episode in sacred history, and showing, that not only were the 
circumstances possible, but that they were highly probable. Of 
course every one of the wretched animals must have been ulti- 
mately burned to death, after suffering a prolonged torture from 
the firebrand that was attached to it. Such a consideration 






THE FOX OR JACKAL. 61 

would, however, have had no effect for deterring Samson from 
employing them. The Orientals are never sparing of pain, even 
when inflicted upon human beings, and in too many cases they 
seem utterly unable even to comprehend the cruelty of which 
they are guilty. And Samson was by no means a favourable 
specimen of his countrymen. He was the very incarnation of 
strength, but was as morally weak as he was corporeally power- 
ful ; and to that weakness he owed his fall. Neither does he 
seem to possess the least trace of forbearance any more than of 
self-control, but he yields to his own undisciplined nature, places 
himself, and through him the whole Israelitish nation, in 
jeopardy, and then, with a grim humour, scatters destruction on 
every side in revenge for the troubles which he has brought 
upon himself by his own acts. 

There is a passage in the Old Testament which is tolerably 
familiar to most students of the Scriptures : " Take us the foxes, 
the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender 
grapes " (Solomon's Song, ii. 15). In this passage allusion is 
made to the peculiar fondness for grapes and several other fruits 
which exist both in the Fox and the Jackal. Even the domes- 
ticated dog is often fond of ripe fruits, and will make great 
havoc among the gooseberry bushes and the strawberry beds. 
But both the Fox and the Jackal display a wonderful predilec- 
tion for the grape above all other fruit, and even when confined 
and partly tamed, it is scarcely possible to please them better 
than by offering them a bunch of perfectly ripe grapes. The 
well-known fable of the fox and the grapes will occur to the 
mind of every one who reads the passage which has just been 
quoted. 

There are two instances in the New Testament where the Fox 
is mentioned, and in both cases the allusion is made by the Lord 
himself. The first of these passages is the touching and well- 
known reproach, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air 
have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head" 
(Matt. viii. 20). The second passage is that in which He speaks 
of Herod as " that fox," selecting a term which well expressed 
the character of the cruel and cunning ruler to whom it was 
applied. 

The reader will remember that, in the history of the last- 
mentioned animal an anecdote is told of a semi-tamed wolf that 



62 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

used to come every evening for the purpose of receiving a piece 
of bread. At the same monastery, three foxes used to enjoy a 
similar privilege. They came regularly to the appointed place, 
which was not that which the wolf frequented, and used to howl 
until their expected meal was given to them. Several com- 
panions generally accompanied them, but were always jealously 
driven away before the monks appeared with the bread. 



THE HY^NA. 

The Hysena not me?jtioned by name, but evidently alluded to — Signification of 
the word Zabua — Translated in the Septuagint as Hyaena — A scene described 
by the prophet Isaiah — The Hyaena plentiful in Palestine at the present day 
— its well-known cowardice and fear of man — The uses of the Hyaena and the 
services which it renders — The particular species of Hyaena — The Hyaena in 
the burial-grounds — Hunting the Hysena - Curious superstition respecting the 
talismanic properties of -its skin —Precautions adopted in flaying it— Popular 
legends of the Hyaena and its magical powers — The cavern home of the Hysena 
—The valley of Zeboim. 

Although in our version of the Scriptures the Hyaena is not 
mentioned by that name, there are two passages in the Old 
Testament which evidently refer to that animal, and therefore it 
is described in these pages. If the reader will refer to the 
prophet Jeremiah, xii. 7-9, he will find these words : " I 
have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage ; I have 
given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her 
enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest ; it 
crieth out against me : therefore have I hated it. Mine heritage 
is unto me as a speckled bird ; the birds round about are against 
her : come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to 
devour." Now, the word zabua signifies something that is 
streaked, and in the Authorized Version it is rendered as a 



THE HYjENA. 63 

speckled bird. But in the Septuagint it is rendered as Hyaena, 
and this translation is thought by many critical writers to be 
the true one. It is certain that the word zabua is one of the 
four names by which the Talmudical writers mention the Hyaena, 
when treating of its character; and it is equally certain that 
!>.uch a rendering makes the passage more forcible, and is in 
perfect accordance with the habits of predacious animals. 

The whole scene which the Prophet thus describes was evi- 
dently familiar to him. First, we have the image of a deserted 
country, allowed to be overrun with wild beasts. Then we have 
the lion, which has struck down its prey, roaring with exultation, 
and defying any adversary to take it from him. Then, the lion 
having eaten his lill and gone away, we have the Hyaenas, vul- 
tures, and other carrion-eating creatures, assembling around the 
carcase, and hastening to devour it This is a scene which has 
been witnessed by many hunters who have pursued their sport 
in lands where lions, hyaenas, and vultures are found ; and all 
these creatures were inhabitants of Palestine at the time when 
Jeremiah wrote. 

At the present day, the Hyaena is still plentiful in Palestine, 
though in the course of the last few years its numbers have 
sensibly diminished. The solitary traveller, when passing by 
night from one town to another, often falls in with the Hyaena, 
but need suffer no fear, as it will not attack a human being, and 
prefers to slink out of his way. But dead, and dying, or 
wounded animals are the objects for which it searches ; and 
when it finds them, it devours the whole of its prey. The lion 
will strike down an antelope, an ox, or a goat- — will tear off its 
flesh with its long fangs, and lick the bones with its rough 
tongue until they are quite cleaned. The wolves and jackals 
will follow the lion, and eat every soft portion of the dead 
animal, while the vultures will fight with them for the coveted 
morsels. But the Hyaena is a more accomplished scavenger 
than lion, wolf, jackal, or vulture ; for it will eat the very bones 
themselves, its tremendously-powerful jaws and firmly-set teeth 
enabling it to crush even the leg-bone of an ox, and its un- 
paralleled digestive powers enabling it to assimilate the sharp 
and hard fragments which would kill any creature not con- 
stituted like itself. 

In a wild, or even a partially-inhabited country, the Hyaena 



64 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is. therefore, a most useful animal. It may occasionally kill a 
crippled or weakly ox, and sometimes carry off a sheep ; but, 
even in that case, no very great harm is done, for it does not 
meddle with any animal that can resist. But these few delin- 
quencies are more than compensated by the great services which 
it renders as scavenger, consuming those substances which even 
the lion cannot eat, and thus acting as a scavenger in removing 
objects which would be offensive to sight and injurious to 
health. 

The species which is mentioned in the Scriptures is the Striped 
Hyaena (Hycena striata) ; but the habits of all the species are 
almost exactly similar. We are told by travellers of certain 
towns in different parts of Africa which would be unendurable 
but for the Hyaenas. With the disregard for human life which 
prevails throughout all savage portions of that country, the rulers 
of these towns order executions almost daily, the bodies of the 
victims being allowed to lie where they happened to fall. No 
one chooses to touch them, lest they should also be added to the 
list of victims, and the decomposing bodies would soon cause a 
pestilence but for the Hyaenas, who assemble at night round 
the bodies, and by the next morning have left scarcely a trace of 
the murdered men. 

Even in Palestine, and in the present day, the Hyaena will 
endeavour to rifle the grave, and to drag out the interred corpse. 
The bodies of the rich- are buried in rocky caves, whose entrances 
are closed with heavy stones, which the Hyaena cannot move ; 
but those of the poor, which are buried in the ground, must be 
defended by stones heaped over them. Even when this pre- 
caution is taken, the Hyaena will sometimes find out a weak 
spot, drag out the body, and devour it. 

In consequence of this propensity, the inhabitants have an 
utter detestation of the animal. They catch it whenever they 
can, in pitfalls or snares, using precisely the same means as were 
employed two thousand years ago ; or they hunt it to its den, 
and then kill it, stripping off the hide, and carrying it about still 
wet, receiving a small sum of money from those to whom they 
show it. Afterwards the skin is dressed, by rubbing it with lime 
and salt, and steeping it in the waters of the Dead Sea. It is then 
made into sandals and leggings, which are thought to be power- 
ful charms, and to defend the wearer from the Hyaena's bite. 






THE HYAENA. 



65 



They always observe certain superstitious precautions in flay- 
ing the dead animal. Believing that the scent of the flesh 
would corrupt the air, they invariably take the carcase to the 
leeward of the tents before they strip off the skin. Even in the 
animal which has been kept for years in a cage, and has eaten 
nothing but fresh meat, the odour is too powerful to be agreeable, 




*\3&$^ 



THE HYvBNA. 

J have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven." — Ezek. xxix 



as I can testify from practical experience when dissecting a 
Hyaena that had died in the Zoological Gardens ; and it is evident 
that the scent of an animal that has lived all its life on carrion 
must be almost unbearable. The skin being removed, the carcase 
is burnt, because the hunters think that by this process the 
other Hyaenas are prevented from finding the body of iheir 
6 F 



66 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

comrade, and either avenging its death or taking warning by 
its fate. 

Superstitions seem to be singularly prevalent concerning the 
Hyaena. In Palestine, there is a prevalent idea that if a Hyaena 
meets a solitary man at night, it can enchant him in such a 
manner as to make him follow it through thickets and over 
rocks, until he is quite exhausted, and falls an unresisting prey . 
but that over two persons he has no such influence, and therefore 
a solitary traveller is gravely advised to call for help as soon as 
he sees a Hyaena, because the fascination of the beast would be 
neutralized by the presence of a second person. So firmly is 
this idea rooted in the minds of the inhabitants, that they will 
never travel by night, unless they can find at least one companion 
in their journey. 

Tn Northern Africa there are many strange superstitions con- 
nected with this animal, one of the most curious of which is 
founded on its well-known cowardice. The Arabs fancy that 
any weapon which has killed a Hyaena, whether it be gun, 
sword, spear, or dagger, is thenceforth unfit to be used in war- 
fare. " Throw away that sword," said an Arab to a French 
officer, who had killed a Hyaena, " it has slain the Hyaena, and it 
will be treacherous to you." 

At the present day, its numbers are not nearly so great in 
Palestine as they used to be, and are decreasing annually. The 
cause of this diminution lies, according to Signor Pierotti, more 
in the destruction of forests than in the increase of population 
and the use of fire-arms, though the two latter causes havo 
undoubtedly considerable influence. 

There is a very interesting account by Mr. Tristram of the 
haunt of these animals. While exploring the deserted quarries 
of Es Sumrah, between Beth-arabah and Bethel, he came upon a 
wonderful mass of hyaenine relics. The quarries in which were 
lying the half-hewn blocks, scored with the marks of wedges, 
had evidently formed the resort of Hyaenas for a long series of 
years. "Vast heaps of bones of camels, oxen, and sheep had 
been collected by these animals, in some places to the depth of 
two or three feet, and on one spot I counted the skulls of seven 
camels. There w r ere no traces whatever of any human remains. 
We had here a beautiful recent illustration of the mode of 
foundation of the old bone caverns, so valuable to the geologist. 



THE HY^NA. 67 

These bones must all have been brought in by the Hyaenas, as 
no camel or sheep could possibly have entered the caverns alive, 
nor could any floods have washed them in. Near the entrance 
where the water percolates, they were already forming a soft 
breccia." 

The second allusion to the Hyaena is made in 1 Sam. xiii. 18, 
" Another company turned to the way of the border that looketh 
to the Valley of Zeboim towards the wilderness," i.e. to the 
Valley of Hysenas. 

The colour of the Striped Hyaena varies according to its age. 
When young, as is the case with many creatures, birds as well 
as mammals, the stripes from which it derives its name are 
much more strongly marked than in the adult specimen. The 
general hue of the fur is a pale grey -brown, over which are 
drawn a number of dark stripes, extending along the ribs and 
across the limbs. 

In the young animal these stripes are nearly twice as dark 
and twice as wide as in the adult, and they likewise appear on 
the face and on other parts of the body, whence they afterwards 
vanish. The fur is always rough ; and along the spine, and espe- 
cially over the neck and shoulders, it is developed into a, kind 
of mane, which gives a very fierce aspect to the animal. The 
illustration shows a group of Hyaenas coming to feed on the 
relics of a dead animal. The jackals and vultures have eaten as 
much of the flesh as they can manage, and the vultures are 
sitting, gorged, round the stripped bones. The Hyaenas are now 
coming up to play their part as scavengers, and have already 
begun to break up the bones in their crushing-mills of jaws. 



f2 



68 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE WEASEL. 

Difficulty of identifying the "Weasel of Scripture— The Weasel of Palestine — 

Suggested identity with the Ichneumon. 

The word Weasel occurs once in the Holy Scriptures, and 
therefore it is necessary that the animal should be mentioned. 
There is a great controversy respecting the identification of the 
animal, inasmuch as there is nothing in the context which gives 
the slightest indication of its appearance or habits. 

The passage in question is that which prohibits the Weasel and 
the mouse as unclean animals (see Lev. xi. 29). Now the word 
which is here translated Weasel is Gholed, or Chol'd ; and, I 
believe, never occurs again in the whole of the Old Testament. 
Mr. W. Houghton conjectures that the Hebrew word Choled is 
identical with the Arabic Chuld and the Syriac Chuldo, both 
words signifying a mole ; and therefore infers that the unclean 
animal in question is not a Weasel, but a kind of mole. 

The Weasel does exist in Palestine, and seems to be as plentiful 
there as in our own country. Indeed, the whole tribe of Weasels 
is well represented, and the polecat is seen there as well as the 
Weasel. 

It has been suggested with much probability, that, as is 
clearly the case in many instances, several animals have been 
included in the general term Weasel, and that among them may 
be reckoned the common ichneumon (Herpestes), which is one of 
the most plentiful of animals in Palestine, and which may be 
met daily. 

The Septuagint favours the interpretation of Weasel, and, as 
there is no evidence on either side, there we may allow the 
question to rest. As, however, the word only occurs once, and 
as the animal, whatever it may be, is evidently of no particular 
importance, we may reserve our space for the animals which 
have more important bearings upon the Holy Scriptures. The 
subject will be again mentioned in the account of the Mole of 
the- Old Testament. 



THE FERRET. 



THE FERRET. 

Translation of the Hebrew word Anakah — The Shrew-mouse of Palestine — 
Etymology of the word — The Gecko or Fan-foot, its habits and peculiar cry- 
Repugnance felt by the Arabs of the present day towards the Gecko. 

Why the Hebrew word Anakah should have been translated in 
our version as Ferret there is little ground for conjecture. 

The name occurs among the various creeping things that were 
reckoned as unclean, and were prohibited as food (see Lev. xi. 
29, 30) : " These also shall be unclean unto you among the 
creeping things that creepeth upon the earth : the weasel, and 
the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, and the ferret, and the 
chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole." Now 
the word in question is translated in the Septuagint as the 
Mygale, or Shrew-mouse, and it is probable that this animal was 
accepted by the Jews as the Anakah. But, whether or not it 
was the Shrew-mouse, it is certain that it is not the animal which 
we call the Ferret. Mr. Tristram suggests that the etymology 
of the name, i.e. Anakah, the Groaner, or Sigher, points to some 
creature which utters a mournful cry. And as the animal in 
question is classed among the creeping things, he offers a con- 
jecture that the Gecko, Wall-lizard, or Fan-foot, may be the 
true interpretation of the word. 

Being one of the lizards, it belongs to the " creeping things," 
and frequently utters a mournful sound like the word " geck-o." 
It is exceedingly plentiful, and inhabits the interior of houses, 
where it can find the flies and other insects on which it lives. 
On account of the structure of the toes, each of which is flat- 
tened into a disk-like form, and furnished on the under surface 
with a series of plates like those on the back of the sucking-fish, 
it can walk up a smooth, perpendicular wall with perfect ease, 
and can even cling to the ceiling like the flies on whicli it feeds. 

The structure of the feet enables it to move about without 
the least sound, and at first an observer is apt to be rather 



70 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

startled at the mournful cry, and at the silent rapidity with 
which it darts from place to place. 

The Arabs of the present day are horribly afraid of the Gecko, 
thinking that it poisons everything that it touches, and are even 
more terrified than are ignorant people in England when they 
see a toad. Both creatures are equally repulsive in aspect, and 
equally harmless towards the human race. 



THE BADGEK. 



Difficulty in identifying the Tachash of Scripture — References to "Badgers' 
skins " — The Dugong thought to be the Badger — The Bedouin sandals — 
Nature of the materials for the Tabernacle Habits of the Badger — The species 
found in Palestine — Uses of the Badgers' skins — Looseness of zoological 
terms. 



Dntil very lately, there was much difficulty in ascertaining 
whether the word Tachash has been rightly translated as 
Badger. It occurs in several parts of the Scriptures, and almost 
invariably is used in relation to a skin or fur of some sort. We 
will first examine the passages in which the Badger is men- 
tioned, and then proceed to identify the animal. 

Nearly all the references to the Badger occur in the book of 
Exodus, and form part of the directions for constructing the 
Tabernacle and its contents. The first notice of the word occurs 
in Exodus xxv. 5, where the people of Israel are ordered to 
bring their offerings for the sanctuary, among which offerings are 
gold, silver, and brass, blue, purple, and scarlet, fine linen, goats' 
hair, rams' skins dyed red, badgers' skins, and shittim wood — all 
these to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle. Then a 
little farther on, in chapter xxvi. 14, we find one of the special 
uses to which the badgers' skins were to be put, namely, to make 
the outer covering or roof of the tabernacle. Another use for 
the badgers' skins was to form an outer covering for the ark, table 



THE BADGER. 7] 

of shewbread, and other furniture of the Tabernacle, when the 
people were on the march. 

In all these cases the badger-skin is used as a covering to 
defend a building or costly furniture, but there is one example 
where it is employed for a different purpose. This passage 
occurs in the book of Ezekiel, chapter xvi. 10. The prophet is 
speaking of Jerusalem under the image of a woman, and uses 
these words, " I anointed thee with oil ; I clothed thee also with 
broidered work, and shod thee with badger's skin, and I girded 
thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 1 
decked thee also with ornaments, and 1 put bracelets upon thy 
hands, and a chain upon thy neck, and I put a jewel on thy 
forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon 
thine head." 

So we have here the fact, that the same material which was 
used for the covering of the Tabernacle, and of the sacred furni- 
ture, could also be used for the manufacture of shoes. This 
passage is the more valuable because of an inference which may 
be drawn from it. The reader will see that the badger-skin, 
whatever it may have been, must have been something of con- 
siderable value, and therefore, in all probability, something of 
much rarity. 

In the present instance, it is classed with the most luxurious 
robes that were known in those days, and it is worthy of special 
mention among the bracelet, earrings, necklace, and coronal with 
which the symbolized city was adorned. If the reader will now 
refer to the passage in which the children of Israel were com- 
manded to bring their offerings, he will see that in those cases 
also the badger-skins were ranked with the costliest articles of 
apparel that could be found, and had evidently been brought 
from Egypt, the peculiar home of all the arts ; together with the 
vast quantity of gold and jewels which were used for the same 
sacred purpose. 

Now we find that the badger-skins in question must possess 
three qualities : they must be costly, they must be capable of 
forming a defence against the weather, and they must be strong 
enough to be employed in the manufacture of shoes. If we 
accept the word Tachash as signifying a Badger, we shall find 
that these conditions have been fulfilled. 

But many commentators have thought that badger-skins could 



72 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

not have been procured in sufficient numbers for the purpose, 
and have therefore conjectured that some other animal must be 
signified by the word Tachash. 

A species of du^ong (Halicore hemprichii) is the animal that 
has been selected as the Badger of the Scriptures. It is one of 
the marine mammalia, and always lives near the shore, where it 
can find the various algae on which it feeds. It is a gregarious 
animal, and, as it frequently ascends rivers for some distance, it 
may be captured in sufficient numbers to make both its flesh 
and skin useful. Moreover, it is of considerable size, fourteen 
or fifteen feet in length being its usual dimensions, so that a 
comparatively small number of the skins would be required for 
the covering of the Tabernacle. 

That shoes can be made of it is evident from the fact that at 
the present day shoes, or rather sandals, are made from its hide, 
and are commonly used by the Bedouins. But the very qualities 
and peculiarities which render it a fit material for the sandal of a 
half-naked Bedouin Arab, who has to walk continually over hard, 
hot, sandy, and rough ground, would surely make it unsuitable for 
the delicate shoes worn by a woman of rank who spends her 
time in the house, and the rest of whose clothing is of fine linen 
and silk, embroidered with gold and jewels. In our own country, 
the hobnailed shoes of the ploughman and the slight shoe of a 
lady are made of very different materials, and it is reasonable 
to conjecture that such was the case when the passage in ques- 
tion was written. 

Then Dr. Bobinson, who admits that the hide of the dugong 
could hardly have been used as the material for a lady's shoe, 
thinks that it would have answered very well for the roof of the 
Tabernacle, because it was large, clumsy, and coarse. It seems 
strange that he did not also perceive that the two latter qualities 
would completely disqualify such skins for that service. Every- 
thing clumsy and coarse was studiously prohibited, and nothing 
but the very best was considered fit for the Tabernacle of the 
Lord. By special revelation, Moses was instructed to procure, 
not merely the ordinary timber of the country for the frame- 
work — not only the fabrics which would keep out rain and 
v :nd — not simply the metals in common use, from which 
to make the lamps and other furniture — not the ordinary 
oils for supplying the lamps ; but, on the contrary, the finest 




THE BADGEtt. 
"Thou shalt make a covering above of badgers* skins.*' — Ex. xxvi. 14. 



THE BADGEK. 73 

linen, the most elaborate embroidery, the rarest woods, the 
purest gold, the costliest gems, were demanded, and nothing 
common or inferior was accepted. The commonest material 
that was permitted was the long, soft fleece of rams' wool ; 
but, even in that case, the wool had to be dyed of the regal 
scarlet — a dye so rare and so costly that none but the 
wealthiest rulers could use it. Even the very oil that burned 
in the lamps must be the purest olive-oil, prepared expressly 
for that purpose. 

The very fact, therefore, that any article was plentiful and 
could easily be obtained, would be a proof that such article was 
not used for so sacred a purpose ; while it is impossible that 
anything coarse and clumsy could have been accepted for the 
construction of that Tabernacle within which the Shekinah ever 
burned over the Mercy-seat — over which the cloud rested by 
day, and the fire shone by night, visible external proofs of the 
Divine glory within. 

We therefore dismiss from our minds the possibility of accept- 
ing any material for it which was not exceptionably valuable, 
and which would be employed in the uses of ordinary life. The 
great object of the minutely-elaborate directions which were 
given through Moses to the Israelites was evidently to keep 
continually before their eyes the great truth that they owed all 
to God, and that their costliest offerings were but acknowledg- 
ments of their dependence. 

We will now presume that the Tachash of the Pentateuch and 
Ezekiel is really the animal which we know by the name oi 
Badger. It exists throughout the whole of the district traversed 
by the Israelites, though it is not very plentiful, nor is it easily 
taken. Had such been the case, its fur would not have been 
employed in the service of the sanctuary. 

It is nocturnal in its habits, and very seldom is seen during 
the hours of daylight, so that it cannot be captured by chase. It 
is not gregarious, so that it cannot be taken in great numbers, as 
is the case with certain wild animals which have been thought 
to be the Tachash of Scripture. It is not a careless animal, so 
that it cannot be captured or killed without the exercise of con- 
siderable ingenuity, and the expenditure of much time and 
trouble. It is one of the burrowing animals, digging for itself 
a deep subterranean home, and always ready whenever it is 



74 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

alarmed to escape into the dark recesses of its dwelling, from 
which it can scarcely be dislodged. It is not a large animal, so 
that a considerable number of skins would be required in order 
to make a covering which should overlap a structure forty-five 
feet in length and fifteen in breadth. Were it a solitary animal, 
there might be a difficulty in procuring a sufficient number of 
skins. But it is partly gregarious in its habits, living together 
in small families, seven or eight being sometimes found to inhabit 
a single dwelling-place. It is, therefore, sufficiently rare to make 
its skin valuable, and sufficiently plentiful to furnish the requisite 
number of skins. All these facts tend to show that the cost of 
such a covering must have been very great, even though it was 
the outermost, and, consequently, the least valuable of the four. 
It has been suggested that these skins were only used to lay over 
the lines where the different sets of coverings overlapped each 
other, and that, in consequence, they need not have been very 
numerous. 

But we find that these same skins, which were evidently those 
which formed the external roof, were used, when the Tabernacle 
was taken down, for the purpose of forming distinct coverings 
for the ark of the testimony, the table of shewbread, the seven- 
branched candlestick, the golden altar, the various vessels used in 
the ministrations, and lastly, the altar of sacrifice itself. Thus, 
when we recollect the dimensions of the ark, the table, the candle- 
stick, and the two altars, we shall see that, in order to make 
separate covers for them, a quantity of material would be used 
which would be amply sufficient to cover the whole roof of the 
Tabernacle, even if it had, as was most probably the case, a ridged, 
and not a flat roof. 

We now come to our next point, namely, the aptitude of the 
Badger's skin to resist weather. Any one who has handled the 
skin of the Badger will acknowledge that a better material could 
hardly be found. The fur is long, thick, and, though light, is 
moderately stiff, the hairs falling over each other in such a 
manner as to throw off rain or snow as off a penthouse. And. 
as to the third point, namely, its possible use as a material for the 
manufacture of shoes, we may call to mind that the skin of the 
Badger is proverbially tough, and that this very quality has 
caused the animal to be subjected to most cruel treatment by a 
class of sporting men which is now almost extinct. 



THE BEAR. 75 

The Septuagint gives little assistance in determining the precise 
nature of the Tachash, and rather seems to consider the word as 
expressive of the colour with which the fur was dyed than that of 
the animal from which it was taken. Still, it must be remem- 
bered that not only are zoological terms used very loosely in the 
Scriptures, but that in Hebrew, as in all other languages, the 
same combination of letters often expresses two different ideas, 
so that the word Tachash may equally signify a colour and an 
animal. Moreover, it has been well pointed out that the repeated 
use of the word in the plural number shows that it cannot 
refer to colour; while its almost invariable combination with 
the Hebrew word that signifies a skin implies that it does not 
refer to colour, but to an animal. 

What that animal may be, is, as I have already mentioned, 
conjectural. But, as the authorized translation renders the word 
as Badger, and as this reading fulfils the conditions necessary to 
its identification, and as no other reading does fulfil them, we 
cannot be very far wrong if we accept that translation as the 
correct one, and assume the Tachash of the Scriptures to be the 
animal which we call by the name of Badger. 



THE BEAR 



The Syrian Bear — Identity of the Hebrew and Arabic titles — Its colour variable 
according to age — Bears once numerous in Palestine, and now only occasionally 
seen— Reason for their diminution — Present localities of the Bear, and its 
favourite haunts— Food of the Bear— Its general habits - Its ravages among 
the flocks — The Bear dangerous to mankind — The Bear robbed of her whelps 
— Illustrative passages— Its mode of fighting— Various references to the Bear, 
from the time of Samuel to that of St. John. 



Whatever doubt may exist as to the precise identity of 
various animals mentioned in the Scriptures, there is none what- 
ever as to the creature which is frequently alluded to under the 
name of Bear. 



76 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The Hebrew word is D6b, and it is a remarkable fact that the 
name of this animal in the Arabic language is almost identical 
with the Hebrew term, namely, Dubh. The peculiar species of 
Bear which inhabits Palestine is the Syrian Bear {Ursus 
Isabellinus), and, though it has been variously described by 
different eye-witnesses, there is no doubt that the same species 
was seen by them all. As is the case with many animals, the 
Syrian Bear changes its colour as it grows older. When a cub, it is 
of a darkish brown, which becomes a light brown as it approaches 
maturity. But, when it has attained its full growth, it becomes 
cream-coloured, and each succeeding year seems to lighten its 
coat, so that a very old Bear is nearly as white as its relative of 
the Arctic regions. Travellers, therefore, who have met the 
younger specimens, have described them as brown in hue, while 
those who have seen more aged individuals have stated that 
the colour of the Syrian Bear is white. 

Owing to the destruction of forests, the Bear, which is essentially 
a lover of the woods, has decreased considerably in number. Yet, 
even at the present time, specimens may be seen by the watchful 
traveller, mostly about the range of Lebanon, but sometimes at 
a considerable distance from that locality. Mr. Tristram, for 
example, saw it close to the Lake of Gennesaret. " We never 
met with so many wild animals as on one of those days. First 
of all, a wild boar got out of some scrub close to us, as we were 
ascending the valley. Then a deer was started below, ran up 
the cliff, and wound along the ledge, passing close to us. Then 
a large ichneumon almost crossed my feet and ran into a cleft ; 
and, while endeavouring to trace him, I was amazed to see a 
brown Syrian Bear clumsily but rapidly clamber down the 
rocks and cross the ravine. He was, however, far too cautious 
to get within hailing distance of any of the riflemen." 

The same author mentions that some of the chief strongholds 
of this Bear are certain clefts in the face of a precipitous chasm 
through which the river Leontes flows. This river runs into the 
sea a few miles northward of Tyre, and assists in carrying off the 
melted snows from the Lebanon range of mountains. His 
description is so picturesque, that it must be given in his own 
words. " The channel, though a thousand feet deep, was so 
narrow that the opposite ridge was within gunshot. Looking 
down the giddy abyss, we could see the cliff on our side partially 




As :i roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people." — Puov. xxviii. 15. 



THE BEAR. 77 

covered with myrtle, bay, and caper hanging from the fissures, 
while the opposite side was perforated with many shallow caves, 
the inaccessible eyries of vultures, eagles, and lanner falcons, which 
were sailing in multitudes around. The lower part had many 
ledges clad with shrubs, the strongholds of the Syrian Bear, 
though inaccessible even to goats. Far beneath dashed the 
milk-white river, a silver line in a ruby setting of oleanders, 
roaring doubtless fiercely, but too distant to be heard at the 
height on which we stood. This cleft of the Leontes was the only 
true Alpine scenery we had met with in Palestine, and in any 
country, and amidst any mountains, it would attract admi- 
ration." 

On those elevated spots the Bear loves to dwell, and throughout 
the summer-time generally remains in such localities. For the 
Bear is one of the omnivorous animals, and is able to feed on 
vegetable as well as animal substances, preferring the former 
when they can be found. There is nothing that a Bear likes better 
than strawberries and similar fruits, among which it will revel 
throughout the whole fruit season, daintily picking the ripest 
berries, and becoming wonderfully fat by the constant banquet. 
Sometimes, when the fruits fail, it makes incursions among the 
cultivated grounds, and is noted for the ravages which it makes 
among a sort of vetch which is much grown in the Holy Land. 

But during the colder months of the year the Bear changes 
its diet, and becomes carnivorous. Sometimes it contents itself 
with the various wild animals which it can secure, but some- 
times it descends to the lower plains, and seizes upon the goats 
and sheep in their pastures. This habit is referred to by David, 
in his well-known speech to Saul, when the king was trying to 
dissuade him from matching himself against the gigantic 
Philistine. " And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go 
against this Philistine to fight with him : for thou art but a 

youth, and he a man of war from his youth Thy servant 

kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and 
took a lamb out of the flock : and I went out after him, and 
smote him, and delivered it out of his hand ; and when he arose 
against me, I caught him by the beard, and smote him, and slew 
him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear : and this 
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath 
defied the armies of the living God." — 1 Sam. xvii. 33 — 36. 



78 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Though not generally apt to attack mankind, it will do so if 
first attacked, and then becomes a most dangerous enemy. See, 
for example, that most graphic passage in the book of the 
prophet Amos, whose business as a herdsman must have made 
him conversant with the habits, not only of the flocks and herds 
which he kept, but of the wild beasts which might devour 
them : — " Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord ! to 
what end is it for you ? the day of the Lord is darkness, and 
not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met 
him ; or went into a house, and leaned his hand on the wall, 
and a serpent bit him." (v. 19.) 

Another reference to the dangerous character of the Bear is 
made in 2 Kings ii. 23, 24, in which is recorded that two she- 
bears came out of the wood near Bethel, and killed forty-two of 
the children that mocked at Elisha. 

As the Bear is not swift of foot, but rather clumsy in its 
movements, it cannot hope to take the nimbler animals in open 
chase. It prefers to lie in wait for them in the bushes, and to 
strike them down with a sudden blow of its paw, a terrible 
weapon, which it can wield as effectively as the lion uses its 
claws. An allusion to this habit is made in the Lamentations 
of Jeremiah (iii. 10), " He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, 
and as a lion in secret places." 

Harmless to man as it generally is, there are occasions on 
which it becomes a terrible and relentless foe, not seeking to 
avoid his presence, but even searching for him, and attacking 
him as soon as seen. In the proper season of the year, hunters, 
or those who are travelling through those parts of the country 
infested by the Bear, will sometimes find the cubs, generally 
two in number, their mother having left them in the den while 
she has gone to search for food. Although they would not 
venture to take the initiative in an attack upon either of the 
parents, they are glad of an opportunity which enables them to 
destroy one or two Bears without danger to themselves. The 
young Bears are easily killed or carried off, because at a very 
early age they are as confident as they are weak, and do not try 
to escape when they see the hunters approaching. 

The only danger lies in the possibility that their deed may 
be discovered by the mother before they can escape from the 
locality, and, if she should happen to return while the robbers 



THE BEAR. 79 

are still in the neighbourhood, a severe conflict is sure to follow. 
At any time an angry Bear is a terrible antagonist, especially if 
it be wounded with sufficient severity to cause pain, and not 
severely enough to cripple its movements. But, when to this 
easily-roused ferocity is added the fury of maternal feelings, it- 
may be imagined that the hunters have good reason to fear its 
attack. 

To all animals that rear their young is given a sublime and 
almost supernatural courage in defending their offspring, and 
from the lioness, that charges a host of armed men when her 
cubs are in danger, to the hen, which defies the soaring kite or 
prowling fox, or to the spider, that will give up her life rather 
than abandon her yet unhatched brood, the same self-sacrificing 
spirit actuates them all. Most terrible therefore is the wrath 
of a creature which possesses, as is the case of the Bear, the 
strongest maternal affections, added to great size, tremendous 
weapons, and gigantic strength. That the sight of a Bear 
bereaved of her young was well known to both writers and 
contemporary readers of the Old Testament, is evident from 
the fact that it is mentioned by several writers, and always 
as a familiar illustration of furious anger. See for example 
'1 Sam. xvii. 8. when Hushai is dissuading Absalom from fol- 
lowing the cautious counsel of Ahithophel, " For thou knowest 
thy father and his men, that they be mighty men of war, and 
they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps 
in the field.' 5 Solomon also, in the Proverbs (xvii. 12), uses 
the same image, " Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, 
rather than a fool in his folly." 

When the Bear fights, it delivers rapid strokes with its armed 
paw, tearing and rending away everything that it strikes. A 
blow from a bear's paw has been several times known to strip 
the entire skin, together with the hair, from a man's head, and, 
when fighting with dogs, to tear its enemies open as if each 
claw were a chisel. This mode of fighting is clearly alluded to 
by the prophet Hosea, vvho seems, from the graphic force of his 
sentences, to have been an actual spectator of some such combat, 
" I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and 
will rend the caul of their heart " (Hos. xiii. 8). 

That the Bear was a well-known animal both in the earlier 
and later times of the Scripture is also evident from the fact 



80 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

that it was twice used as a symbol exhibited to a seer in a 
vision. The first of these passages occurs in the book of 
Daniel (vii. 5), when the prophet is describing the wonderful 
vision of the four beasts : — " And behold another beast, a second, 
like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had 
three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it, and they 
said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." The second 
allusion occurs in the Eevelation, the seven-headed and ten- 
crowned beast having a form like that of a leopard, but feet 
like those of a Bear. 



THE HEDGEHOG, OE BITTERN. 

Various readings of the word Kijipdd — The Jewish Bible and its object — The 
Syrian Hedgehog and its appearance — Its fondness for dry spots — The prophe- 
cies of Isaiah and Zephaniah, and their bearing on the subject — The Porcupine 
supposed to be the Kippod — The Hedgehog and Porcupine called by the same 
name in Greek and Arabic — Habits of the Porcupine — Its quills, and the 
manner of their shedding. 

In our Authorized Bible, there are one or two passages where 
the Hebrew word Kippod is translated as Bittern. For example, 
there is Isaiah xiv. 22, 23, " I will cut off from Babylon the 
name, and remnant, and son and nephew, saith the Lord. I 
will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of 
water, and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith 
the Lord of hosts." 

Then there is another passage of the same prophet 
(xxxiv. 11), "But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess 
it {i.e. Tdumea), the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it." 
The last mention of this creature occurs in Zephaniah ii. 14, 
" And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her (i.e. Nineveh), 
all the beasts of the nations : both the bittern and the cormorant 
shall lodge in the upper lintels of it ; their voice shall sing in 



THE HEDGEHOG, OK BITTERN. 



31 



the windows ; desolation shall be in the thresholds ; for he shall 
uncover the cedar-work." 

Now, in the " Jewish School and Family Bible," a new literal 
translation by Dr. A. Benisch, under the superintendence oi 
the Chief Rabbi, the word Kippod is translated, not as Bittern, 
but Hedgehog. As I shall have to refer to this translation 
repeatedly in the course of the present work, T will give a few 
remarks made by the translator in the preface. 




SYRIAN HEUGKilOG. 

"Pelican and hedgehog shall yrossess it "— Isa. xxxiv 11 (Jewish Bible). 



After premising that both Christian and Jew agree in con- 
sidering the Old Testament as emanating from God, and 
reverencing it as such, he proceeds to say that the former, as 
holding himself absolved from the ceremonial law of the 
Mosaic dispensation, has not the interest in the exact significa- 
tion of every letter of the law which necessarily attaches itself 
to the Jew, who considers himself bound by that law, although 
some ceremonies, " by their special reference to the Temple in 
Jerusalem and the actual existence of Israel in the Holy Lnnd, 
are at present not practicable." 

7 O 



82 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

He then observes that the translators of the authorized 
Anglican version, whose many excellences he fully admits, 
could not be considered as free agents, as they were bound by 
the positive injunctions of their monarch, as well as by the less 
obvious, but more powerful influence of Christian authorities, 
to alter the original translation as little as possible, and to keep 
the ecclesiastical words. Retaining, therefore, the renderings of 
the Anglican translation whenever it. can be done without in- 
fringing upon absolute accuracy, the translator has marked with 
great care various passages where he has felt himself obliged to 
give a different rendering to the Hebrew. Whenever words, 
especially such as are evidently the names of animals, cannot 
be rendered with any amount of probability, they have not been 
translated at all, and to those about which there are good 
grounds of doubt a distinctive mark is affixed. 

Now to the word Hedgehog, by which the Hebrew Kippod 
is rendered, no such marking is attached in either of the three 
quoted passages, and it is evident therefore that the rendering is 
satisfactory to the highest authorities on the Hebrew language. 
And we have the greater assurance of this accuracy, because, in 
the mere translation of the name of an animal, no doctrinal 
point is involved, and so there can be no temptation to the 
translator to be carried away by preconceived ideas, and to give 
to the word that rendering which may tend to establish his 
peculiar doctrinal ideas. 

The Septuagint also translates Kippod as ey^o? {echinus) 
i.e. the Hedgehog, and this rendering is advocated by the 
eminent scholar Gesenius, who considers it to be formed from 
the Hebrew word kaped, i.e. contracted ; reference being of 
course made to the Hedgehog's habit of rolling itself up when 
alarmed, and presenting only an array of bristles to the enemy. 
This derivation of the word is certainly more convincing than a 
suggestion which has been made, that the Hebrew Kippod may 
signify the Hedgehog, because it resembles the Arabic name oi 
the same animal, viz. Kunfod. 

As therefore the word Kippod is translated as Hedgehog in 
the Septuagint and Jewish Bible, and as Bittern in the authorized 
version, we very naturally ask ourselves whether either or both 
of these animals inhabit Palestine and the neighbouring countries. 
We find that both are plentiful even at the present day, and 



THE HEDGEHOG, OR BITTERN. 83 

that more than one species of Hedgehog and Bittern are known 
in the Holy Land. About the Bittern we shall treat in good 
time, and will now take up the rendering of Hedgehog. 

There are at least two species of Hedgehog known in Pales- 
tine, that of the north being identical with our own well-known 
animal {Erinaceus Europceus), and the other being a distinct 
species {Erinaceus Syriacus). The latter animal is the species 
which has been chosen for illustration. It is smaller than its 
northern relative, lighter in colour, and, as may be seen from the 
illustration, is rather different in general aspect. 

Its habits are identical with those of the European Hedgehog. 
Like that animal it is carnivorous, feeding on worms, snails, 
frogs, lizards, snakes, and similar creatures, and occasionally 
devouring the eggs and young of birds that make their nest on 
the ground. 

Small as is the Hedgehog, it can devour all such animals with 
perfect ease, its jaws and teeth being much stronger than might 
be anticipated from the size of their owner. 

One or two objections that have been made to the translation 
of the Kippod as Hedgehog must be mentioned, so that the 
reader may see what is said on both sides in dubious cases. 
One objection is, that the Kippod is (in Isaiah xiv. 23) men- 
tioned in connexion with pools of water, and that, as the 
Hedgehog prefers dry places to wet, whereas the Bittern is 
essentially a marsh- dweller, the latter rendering of the word is 
preferable to the former. Again, as the Kippod is said by 
Zephaniah to " lodge in the upper lintels," and its " voice to 
sing in the windows," it must be a bird, and not a quadruped. 
We will examine these passages separately, and see how they 
bear upon the subject. As to Zephaniah ii. 13, the Jewish Bible 
treats the passage as follows : — " And he will stretch out his hand 
against the north, and destroy Assyria ; and will make Nineveh 
a desolation, and arid like the desert. And droves shall crouch 
in the midst of her, all the animals of nations : both pelican and 
hedgehog (Kippod) shall lodge nightly in the knobs of it, a voice 
shall sing in the windows ; drought shall be in the thresholds, for 
he shall uncover the cedar-work." 

Now the reader will see that, so far from the notion of 
marsh-land being connected with the Kippod, the whole imagery 
of the prophecy turns upon the opposite characteristics of deso- 

G2 



84 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

lation, aridity, and drought. The same imagery is used in Isaiah 
xxxiv. 7 — 12, which the Jewish Bible reads as follows, "For it 
is the day of the vengeance of the Eternal, and the year of re- 
compenses for the quarrel of Zion. And the brooks thereof 
shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, 
and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not 
go out night nor day ; the smoke of it shall go up for ever ; from 
generation to generation it shall lie waste ; none shall pass 
through it for ever and ever. Pelican and hedgehog (Kippod) 
shall possess it ; owls also and ravens shall dwell in it ; and he 
shall stretch over it the line of desolation, and the stones of 
emptiness.'" And £o the end of the chapter the same idea of 
drought, desolation, and solitude is carried out. 

Thus, even putting the question in the simplest manner, we 
have two long passages which directly connect the Kippod with 
drought, aridity, and desolation, in opposition' to one in which 
the Kippod and " pools of w r ater " are mentioned in proximity to 
each other. Now the fact is, that the sites of Nineveh and 
Babylon fulfil both prophecies, being both dry and marshy — 
dry away from the river, and marshy among the reed-swamps 
that now exist on its banks. 

So much for the question of locality. 

As to the second objection, namely, that the Kippod was to 
lodge in the upper lintels, and therefore must be a bird, and not 
a quadruped, it is sufficient to say that the allusion is evidently 
made to ruins that are thrown down, and not to buildings that 
are standing upright. 

As to the words, " their voices shall sing in the windows," the 
reader may see, on reference to the English Bible, that the word 
" their " is printed in italics, showing that it does not exist in the 
original, and has been supplied by the translator. Taking the 
passage as it really stands, " Both the cormorant and the bittern 
(Kippod) shall lodge in the upper lintels of it ; a voice shall sing 
in the windows," it is evident that the voice or sound which 
sings in the windows does not necessarily refer to the cormorant 
and Bittern at all. Dr. Harris remarks that "the phrase is 
elliptical, and implies ' the voice of birds.' " 



THE PORCUPINE. 85 



THE PORCUPINE. 

Presumed identity of the Kippod with the Porcupine — The same Grtek name 
applied to the Porcupine and Hedgehog — Habits of the Porcupine — the 
common Porcupine found plentifully in Palestine. 

Although, like the hedgehog, the Porcupine is not mentioned 
by name in the Scriptures, many commentators think that the 
word Kippod signifies both the hedgehog and Porcupine. 

That the two animals should be thought to be merely two 
varieties of one species is not astonishing, when we remember 
the character of the people among whom the Porcupine lives- 
Not having the least idea of scientific geology, they look only to 
the most conspicuous characteristics, and because the Porcupine 
and hedgehog are both covered with an armature of quills, and 
the quills are far more conspicuous than the teeth, the inhabi- 
tants of Palestine naturally class the two animals together. In 
reality, they belong to two very different orders, the hedgehog 
being classed with the shrew-mice and moles, while the Porcu- 
pine is a rodent animal, and is classed with the rats, rabbits ; 
beavers, marmots, and other rodents. 

At the present day the inhabitants of the Holy Land believe 
the Porcupine to be only a large species of hedgehog, and the 
same name is applied to both animals. Such is the case even in 
the Greek language, the word Hystrix (uarpLy^ or vadpi%) being 
employed indifferently in either sense. 

Its food is different from that of the hedgehog, for whereas 
the hedgehog lives entirely on animal food, as has bees, already 
mentioned, the Porcupine is as exclusively a vegetable eater, 
feeding chiefly on roots and bark. 

It is quite as common in Palestine as the hedgehog, a fact 
which increases the probability that the two animals may have 
been mentioned under a common title. Being a nocturnal 
animal, it retires during the day-time to some crevice in a rock or 
burrow in the ground, and there lies sleeping until the sunset 



86 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

awakens it and calls it to action. And as the hedgehog is also 
a nocturnal animal, the similarity of habit serves to strengthen 
the mutual resemblance. 

The Porcupine is peculiarly fitted for living in dry and un- 
watered spots, as, like many other animals, of which our 
common rabbit is a familiar example, it can exist without 
water, obtaining the needful moisture from the succulent roots 
on which it feeds. 

The sharply pointed quills with which its body is covered are 
solid, and strengthened in a most beautiful manner by internal 
ribs, that run longitudinally along its length, exactly like those 
of the hollow iron masts, which are now coming so much into 
use. As they are, in fact, greatly developed hairs, they are con- 
tinually shed and replaced, and when they are about to fall are 
so loosely attached that they fall off if pulled slightly, or even if 
the animal shakes itself. Consequently the shed quills that lie 
about the localities inhabited by the Porcupine indicate its 
whereabouts, and so plentiful are these quills in some places, 
that quite a bundle can be collected in a short time. 

There are many species of Porcupines which inhabit different 
parts of the world, but that which has been mentioned is the 
common Porcupine of Europe, Asia, and Africa {Hystrix 
cristata). 



THE MOLE. 



The two Hebrew words which are translated as Mole — Obscurity of the former 
name — A parallel case in our own language -The second name- The Moles 
and the Bats, why associated together— The real Mole of Scripture, its different 
names, and its place in zoology — Description of the Mole-rat and its general 
habits— Curious superstition — Discovery of the species by Mr. Tristram- 
Scripture and science — How the Mole-rat finds its food — Distinction be-twcen 
the Mole and the present animal. 

There are two words which are translated as Mole in our 
authorized version of the Bible. One of them is so obscure that 
there seems no possibility of deciding the creature that is repre- 
sented by it. We cannot even tell to what class of the animal 



THE MOLE. 



87 



kingdom it refers, because in more than one place it is mentioned 
as one of the unclean birds that might not be eaten (translated 
as swan in our version), whereas, in another place, it is enume- 
rated among the unclean creeping things. 

We may conjecture that the same word might be used to 
designate two distinct animals, though we have no clue to their 
identification. It is rather a strange coincidence, in corroboration 
of this theory, that our word Mole signifies three distinct ob- 
jects — firstly, an animal ; secondly, a cutaneous growth ; and 
thirdly, a bank of earth. Now, supposing English to be a dead 







THE MOLE-RAT. 

"These aiso shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep uvon the arth . . the 
lizard, the trutU, and the mole.' - — Lev. xi. 29, 30. 



language, like the Hebrew, it may well be imagined that a trans- 
lator of an English book would feel extremely perplexed when 
lie saw the word Mole used in such widely different senses. 

The best Hebraists can do no more than offer a conjecture 
founded on the structure of the word Tinshemeth, which is 
thought by some to be the chameleon. Some think that it 
is the Mole, some the ibis, some the salamander, while others 



88 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

consider it to be the centipede ; and in neither case have any 
decisive arguments been adduced. 

We will therefore leave the former of these two names, and 
proceed to the second, Chephor-peroth. 

This word occurs in that passage of Isaiah which has already 
been quoted when treating of the bat. " In that day a man shall 
cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made 
each one to himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats ; to 
go into the clefts of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged 
rocks, for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty, when 
he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." 

It is highly probable that the animal in question is the Mole 
of Palestine, which is not the same as our European species, but 
is much larger in size, and belongs to a different order of mam- 
malia. The true Mole is one of the insectivorous and carnivorous 
animals, and is allied to the shrews and the hedgehogs ; whereas 
the Mole of Palestine (Spalax typhlus) is one of the rodents, 
and allied to the rabbits, mice, marmots, and jerboas. A better 
term for it is the Mole-rat, by which name it is familiar to 
zoologists. It is also known by the names of Slepez and 
Nenni. 

In length it is about eight inches, and its colour is a pale slate. 
As is the case with the true Moles, the eyes are of very minute 
dimensions, and are not visible through the thick soft fur with 
which the whole head and body are covered. Neither are there 
any visible external ears, although the ear is really very large, 
and extremely; sensitive to sound. This apparent privation of 
both ears and eves gives to the animal a most singular and 
featureless appearance, its head being hardly recognisable as such 
but for the mouth, and the enormous projecting teeth, which not 
only look formidable, but really are so. There is a curious 
superstition in the Ukraine, that if a man will dare to grasp a 
Mole-rat in his bare hand, allow it to bite him, and then squeeze 
it to death, the hand that did the deed will ever afterwards 
possess the virtue of healing goitre or scrofula. 

This animal is spread over a very large tract of country, and 
is very common in Palestine. Mr. Tristram gives an interesting 
account of its discovery. " We had long tried in vain to capture, 
the Mole of Palestine. Its mines and its mounds we had seen 
everywhere, and reproached ourselves with having omitted the 



THE MOLE. 89 

mole-trap among the items of our outfit. From the size of the 
mounds and the shallowness of the subterranean passages, we 
felt satisfied it could not be the European species, and our hopes 
of solving the question were raised when we found that one of 
them had taken up its quarters close to our camp. After several 
vain attempts to trap it, an Arab one night brought a live Mole 
in ajar to the tent. It was no Mole properly so called, but the 
Mole-rat, which takes its place throughout Western Asia, The 
man, having observed our anxiety to possess a specimen, refused 
to part with it for less than a hundred piastres, and scornfully 
rejected the twenty piastres I offered. Ultimately, Dr. Chaplin 
purchased it for five piastres after our departure, and I kept it 
alive for some time in a box, feeding it on sliced onions." 

The same gentleman afterwards caught many of the Mole-rats, 
and kept them in earthen vessels, as they soon gnawed their 
way through wood. They fed chiefly on bulbs, but also ate 
sopped bread. Like many other animals, they reposed during 
the day, and were active throughout the night. 

The author then proceeds to remark on the peculiarly appro- 
priate character of the prophecy that the idols should be cast 
to the Moles and. the bats. Had the European Mole been the 
animal to which reference was made, there would have been 
comparatively little significance in the connexion of the two 
names, because, although both animals are lovers of darkness, 
they do not inhabit similar localities. But the Mole-rat is fond 
of frequenting deserted ruins and burial-places, so that the 
Moles and the bats are really companions, and as such are asso- 
ciated together in the sacred narrative. Here, as in many other 
instances, we find that closer study of the Scriptures united to 
more extended knowledge are by no means the enemies of 
religion, as some well-meaning, but narrow-minded persons 
think. On the contrary, the Scriptures were never so well 
understood, and their truth and force so well recognised, as at 
the present day ; and science has proved to be, not the destroyer 
of the Bible, but its interpreter. We shall soon cease to hear of 
" Science versus the Bible," and shall substitute " Science and 
the Bible versus Ignorance and Prejudice." 

The Mole-rat needs not to dig such deep tunnels as the true 
Moles, because its food does not lie so deep. The Moles live 
chiefly upon earthworms, and are obliged to procure them in the 



90 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

varying depths to which they burrow. Bit the Mole-rat livea 
mostly upon roots, preferring those of a bulbous nature. Now 
bulbous roots are, as a rule, situated near the surface of the 
ground, and, therefore, any animal which feeds upon them 
must be careful not to burrow too deeply, lest it should pass 
beneath them. The shallowness of the burrows is thus accounted 
foi Gardens are often damaged by this animal, the root-crops, 
such as carrots and onions, affording plenty of food without 
needing much exertion. 

The Mole-rat does not keep itself quite so jealously secluded as 
does our common Mole, but occasionally will come out of the 
burrow and lie on the ground, enjoying the warm sunshine. Still 
it is not easily to be approached ; for though its eyes are almost 
useless, the ears are so sharp, and the animal is so wary, that at 
the sound of a footstep it instantly seeks the protection' of its 
burrow, where it may bid defiance to its foes. 

How it obtains its food is a mystery. There seems to be 
absolutely no method of guiding itself to the precise spot where 
a bulb may be growing. It is not difficult to conjecture the 
method by which the Mole discovers its prey. Its sensitive ears 
may direct it to the spot where a worm is driving its way 
through the earth, and should it come upon its prey, the very 
touch of the worm, writhing in terror at the approach of its 
enemy, would be sufficient to act as a guide. I have kept 
several Moles, and always noticed that, though they would pass 
close to a worm without seeming to detect its presence, either 
by sight or scent, at the slightest touch they would spring 
round, dart on the worm, and in a moment seize it between their 
jaws. But with the Mole-rat the case is different. The root can 
utter no sound, and can make no movement, nor is it likely that 
the odour of the bulb should penetrate through the earth to a 
very great distance. 



THE MOUSE. 91 



THE,. MOUSE. 



Ponjeotures as to the right translation of the Hebrew word Akbar— Signification 
of the word— The Mice which marred the land — Miracles, and their economy 
of power — The Field-mouse — Its destructive habits and prolific nature — The 
insidious nature of its attacks, and its power of escaping observation— The 
Hamster, and its habits — Its custom of storing up provisions for the winter 
— Its fertility and unsociable nature — The Jerboa, its activity and destructive- 
ness — Jerboas and Hamsters eaten by Arabs and Syrians — Various species of 
Dormice and Sand-rats. 



Thai the Mouse mentioned in the Old Testament was some 
species of rodent animal is tolerably clear, though it is impos- 
sible to state any particular species as being signified by the 
Hebrew word Akbar. The probable derivation of this name is 
from two words which signify " destruction of corn," and it is 
therefore evident that allusion is made to some animal which 
devours the produce of the fields, and which exists in sufficient 
numbers to make its voracity formidable. 

Some commentators on the Old Testament translate the 
word Akbar as jerboa. Now, although the jerboa is common in 
Syria, it is not nearly so plentiful as other rodent animals, and 
would scarcely be selected as the means by which a terrible 
disaster is made to befall a whole country. The student of 
Scripture is well aware that, in those exceptional occurrences 
which are called miracles, a needless development of the 
wonder-working power is never employed. We are not to sup- 
pose, for example, that the clouds of locusts that devoured the 
harvests of the Egyptians were created for this express purpose, 
but that their already existing hosts were concentrated upon a 
limited area, instead of being spread over a large surface. Nor 
need we fancy that the frogs which rendered their habitations 
unclean, and contaminated their food, were brought into exist- 
ence simply to inflict a severe punishment on the fastidious and 
superstitious Egyptians. 



92 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Of course, had such an exercise of creative power been needed, 
it would have been used, but we can all see that a needless 
miracle is never worked. He who would not suffer even a 
crumb of the miraculously multiplied bread to be wasted, is not 
likely to waste that power by which the miracle was wrought. 

If we refer to the early history of the Israelitish nation, as 
told in 1 Sam. iv. — vi., we shall find that the Israelites made an 
unwarrantable use of the ark, by taking it into battle, and that 
it was captured and carried off into the country of the Philistines. 
Then various signs were sent to warn the captors to send the 
ark back to its rightful possessors. Dagon, the great fish-god, 
was prostrated before it, painful diseases attacked them, so that 
many died, and scarcely any seem to have escaped, while their 
harvests were ravaged by numbers of "mice that marred the 
land." 

The question is now simple enough. If the ordinary transla- 
tion is accepted, and the word Akbar rendered as Mouse, would 
the necessary conditions be fulfilled, i.e. would the creature be 
destructive, and wouid it exist in very great numbers ? Now 
we shall find that both these conditions are fulfilled by the 
common Field-mouse (Arvicola arvalis). 

This little creature is, in proportion to its size, one of the most 
destructive animals in the world. Let its numbers be increased 
from any cause whatever, and it will most effectually " mar 
the land." It will devour every cereal that is sown, and kill 
almost any sapling that is planted. It does not even wait for 
the corn to spring up, but will burrow beneath the surface, and 
dig out the seed before it has had time to sprout. In the early 
part of the year, it will eat the green blade as soon as it springs 
out of the ground, and is an adept at climbing the stalks of corn, 
and plundering the ripe ears in the autumn. 

When stacked or laid up in barns, the harvest is by no means 
safe, for the Mice will penetrate into any ordinary barn, and find 
their way into any carelessly-built stack, from which they can 
scarcely be ejected. The rat itself is not so dire a foe to the 
fanner, as the less obtrusive, but equally mischievous Field- 
mouse. The ferret will drive the rats o^t of their holes, and if 
they have taken possession of a wheat-stack they can be ejected 
by depriving them of access to water. But the burrows of the 
Field-mouse are su small that a ferret cannot make its way 



THE MOUSE. 



93 



through them, and the nightly dew that falls on the stack affords 
an ample supply of water. 

When the Field-mouse is deprived of the food which it loves 
best, it finds a subsistence among the trees. Whenever mice can 
discover a newly-planted sapling, they hold great revel upon it, 
eating away the tender young bark as high as they can reach, 
and consequently destroying the tree as effectually as if it were 




THE FIKLrj-MOUSE. 

" Wherefore ye shall make images oj your mice that mar the lai<,d." — 1 Sam. vi. 3. 

cut down. Even when the young trees fail them, and no tendeT 
bark is to be had, the Field-mice can still exert their destructive 
powers. They will then betake themselves to the earth, burrow 
beneath its surface, and devour the young rootlets of the forest 
trees. All botanists know that a healthy tree is continually 
pushing forward fresh roots below the ground, in order to gain 
sufficient nourishment to supply the increasing growth above. 
If, therefore, these young roots are destroyed, the least harm 



94 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

that can happen to the tree is that its further growth is arrested ; 
while, in many cases, the tree, which cannot repair the injuries 
it has received, droops gradually, and finally dies. Even in this 
country, the Field-mouse has proved itself a terrible enemy to 
the agriculturist, and has devastated considerable tracts of land. 

So much for the destructive powers of the Field-mouse, and 
the next point to be considered is its abundance. 

Nearly all the rats and mice are singularly prolific animals, 
producing a considerable number at a brood, and having several 
broods in a season. The Field-mouse is by no means an excep- 
tion to the general rule, but produces as many young in a season 
as any of the Mice. 

Not only is it formidable from its numbers, but from the in- 
sidious nature of its attacks. Any one can see a rabbit, a hare, 
or even a rat ; but to see a Field-mouse is not easy, even when the 
little creatures are present in thousands. A Field-mouse never 
shows itself except from necessity, its instinct teaching it to 
escape the observation of its many furred and feathered enemies. 
Short-legged and soft-furred, it threads its noiseless way among 
the herbage with such gentle suppleness that scarcely a grass- 
blade is stirred, while, if it should be forced to pass over a spot 
of bare ground, the red-brown hue of its fur prevents it from 
being detected by an inexperienced eye. Generally the Field- 
mouse is safe from human foes, and has only to dread the 
piercing eye and swift wings of the hawk, or the silent (light 
and sharp talons of the owl. 

Although there can be no doubt that the Field-mouse is one 
of the animals to which the name of Akbar is given, it is pro- 
bable that many species were grouped under this one name. 
Small rodents of various kinds are very plentiful in Palestine, 
and there are several species closely allied to the Field-mouse 
itself. 

Among them is the Hamster (Cricetus frumentarius), so 
widely known for the ravages which it makes among the crops. 
This terribly destructive animal not only steals the crops for 
immediate subsistence, bat lays up a large stock of provisions 
for the winter, seeming to be actuated by a sort of miserly 
passion for collecting and storing away. There seems to be no 
bounds to the quantity of food which a Hamster will carry 
into its subterranean store-house, from seventy to one hundred 



THE MOUSE. vo 

pounds' weight being sometimes taken out of the burrow of a 
single animal. The fact of the existence of these large stores 
shows that the animal must need them, and accordingly we find 
that the Hamster is only a partial hibernator, as it is awake 
during a considerable portion of the winter months, and is con- 
sequently obliged to live on the stores which it has collected. 

It is an exceedingly prolific animal, each pair producing on an 
average twenty-five young in the course of* a year. The families 
are unsociable, and, as soon as they are strong enough to feed 
themselves, the young Hamsters leave their home, and make 
separate burrows for themselves. Thus we see that the Hamster, 
as well as the Field-mouse, fulfils the conditions which are 
needed in order to class it under the general title of Akbar. 

I have already stated that some translators of the Bible use 
the word Jerboa as a rendering of the Hebrew Akbar. As the 
Jerboa certainly is found in Palestine, there is some foundation 
for this idea, and we may safely conjecture that it also is one of 
the smaller rodents which are grouped together under the appel- 
lation of Mouse. 

The Common Jerboa (Dipics jEgyptiacus) is plentiful in Pales- 
tine, and several other species inhabit the same country, known 
at once by their long and slender legs, which give them so 
curious a resemblance to the kangaroos of Australia. The Jerboas 
pass over the ground with astonishing rapidity. Instead of 
creeping stealthily among the grass-blades, like the short-limbed 
field-mouse, the Jerboa flies along with a succession of wonderful 
leaps, darting here and there with such rapidity that the eye can 
scarcely follow its wayward movements. When quiet and undis- 
turbed, it hops along gently enough, but as soon as it takes 
alarm, it darts off in its peculiar manner, which is to the ordi- 
nary walk of quadrupeds what the devious course of a frightened 
snipe is to the steady flight of birds in general. 

It prefers hot and dry situations, its feet being defended by a 
thick coating of stiff hairs, which serve the double purpose of 
protecting it from the heat, and giving it a firm hold on the 
ground. It is rather a destructive animal, its sharp and powerful 
teeth enabling it to bite its way through obstacles which would 
effectually stop an ordinary Mouse. That the Jerboa may be 
one of the Akbarim is rendered likely by the prohibition in 
Lev. xi. 29, forbidding the Mouse to be eaten. It would be 



96 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

scarcely probable that such a command need have been issued 
against eating the common Mouse, whereas the Jerboa, a much 
larger and palatable animal, is always eaten by the Arabs. The 
Hamster is at the present day eaten in Northern Syria. 

Beside these creatures there are the Dormice, several species 
of which animal inhabit Palestine at the present day. There are 
also the Sand-rats, one species of which is larger than our ordi- 
nary rats. The Sand-rats live more in the deserts than the 
cultivated lands, making their burrows at the foot of hills, and 
among the roots of bushes. 



THE HARE. 



The prohibitions of the Mosaic law — The chewing of the cud, and division of the 
hoof — Identity of the Hare of Scripture — Rumination described — The Hare 
a rodent and not a ruminant — Cpwper and his Hares— Structure of the rodent 
tooth —The Mosaic law accommodated to its recipients — The Hares of Palestine 
and their habit. . 



Among the many provisions of the Mosaic law are several which 
refer to the diet of the Israelites, and which prohibit certain 
kinds of food. Special stress is laid upon the flesh of animals, 
and the list of those which may be lawfully eaten is a singularly 
restricted one, all being excluded except those which " divide the 
hoof and chew the cud." And, lest there should be any mistake 
about the matter, examples are given both of those animals 
which may and those which may not be eaten. 

The ox, sheep, goat, and antelopes generally are permitted as 
lawful food, because they fulfil both conditions ; whereas there is 
a special prohibition of the swine, because it divides the hoof 
but does not chew the cud, and of the camel, coney, and hare 
because they chew the cud, but do not divide the hoof. Our 
business at present is with the last of these animals. 

Considerable discussion has been raised concerning this 
animal, because, as is well known to naturalists, the Hare is not 



THE SYRIAN HAKE. 



97 



one of the ruminant animals, but belongs to the same order as 
the rat, rabbit, beaver, and other rodents. Neither its teeth nor 
its stomach are constructed for the purpose of enabling it to 
ruminate, i.e. to return into the mouth the partially-digested 
food, and then to masticate it afresh ; and therefore it has been 
thought that either there is some mistake in the sacred narrative, 
at that the Hebrew word has been mistranslated. 




THE SYRIAN HARE. 

Nevertheless, these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven 
hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney." — Deut. xiv. 7. 



Taking the latter point first, as being the simplest of the two, 
we find that the Hebrew word which is rendered as Hare is 
Arnebeth, and that it is rendered in the Septuagint as Dasypus, 
or the Hare, — a rendering which the Jewish Bible adopts. 
That the Arnebeth is really the Hare may also be conjectured 
from the fact that the Arabic name for that animal is Arneb. 
Iu consequence of the rather wide sense to which the Greek 
word Dasypus (i.e. hairy-foot) is used, some commentators have 
suggested that the rabbit may have been included in the same 
title. This, however, is not at all likely, inasmuch as thp Hare 
8 H 



98 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is very plentiful in Palestine, and the rabbit is believed not to 
be indigenous to that part of the world. And, even if the two 
animals had been classed under the same title, the physiological 
difficulty would not be removed. 

Before proceeding further, it will be as well to give a brief 
description of the curious act called rumination, or "chewing 
the cud." 

There are certain animals, such as the oxen, antelopes, deer, 
sheep, goats, camels, &c. which have teeth unfitted for the rapid 
mastication of food, and which therefore are supplied with a 
remarkable apparatus by which the food can be returned into 
the mouth when the animal has leisure, and be re-masticated 
before it passes into the true digestive organs. 

For this purpose they are furnished with four stomachs, which 
are arranged in the following order. First comes the paunch or 
" rumen " (whence the word " ruminating "), into which passes the 
food in a very rough state, just as it is torn, rather than bitten, 
from the herbage, and which is analogous to the crop in birds. It 
thence passes into the second stomach, or "honeycomb," the 
walls of which are covered with small angular cells. Into those 
cells the food is received from the first stomach, and compressed 
into little balls, which can be voluntarily returned into the 
mouth for mastication. 

After the second mastication has been completed, the food 
passes at once into the third stomach, and thence into the fourth, 
which is the true digesting cavity. By a peculiar structure of 
these organs, the animal is able to convey its food either into 
the first or third stomach, at will, i.e. into the first when the grass 
is eaten, and into the third after rumination. Thus it will be seen 
that an animal which chews the cud must have teeth of a certain 
character, and be possessed of the fourfold stomach which has 
just been described. 

Two points are conceded which seem to be utterly irrecon- 
cilable with each other. The first is that the Mosaic law 
distinctly states that the Hare chews the cud; the second is, 
that in point of fact the Hare is not, and cannot be, a rumi- 
nating animal, possessing neither the teeth nor the digestive 
organs which are indispensable for that process. Yet, totally 
opposed as these statements appear to be, they are in fact, not sc 
irreconcilable as they seem. 



THE SYRIAN HARE. 99 

Why the flesh of certain animals was prohibited, we do not at 
the present time know. That the flesh of swine should be for- 
bidden food is likely enough, considering the effects which the 
habitual eating of swine's flesh is said to produce in hot countries. 
But it does seem very strange that the Israelites should have 
been forbidden to eat the flesh of the camel, the coney (or hyrax), 
and the Hare, and that these animals should have been specified 
is a proof that the eating or refraining from their flesh was not 
a mere sanitary regulation, but was a matter of importance. 
The flesh, of all these three animals is quite as good and 
nutritious as that of the oxen, or goats, which are eaten in 
Palestine, and that of the Hare is far superior to them. There- 
fore, the people of Israel, who were always apt to take liberties 
with the restrictive laws, and were crafty enough to evade them 
on so many occasions, would have been likely to pronounce that 
the flesh of the Hare was lawful meat, because the animal chewed 
the cud, or appeared to do so, and they would discreetly have 
omitted the passage which alluded to the division of the hoof. 

To a non-scientific observer the Hare really does appear to 
chew the cud. When it is reposing at its ease, it continually 
moves its jaws about as if eating something, an action which 
may readily be mistaken for true rumination. Even Cowper, 
the poet, who kept some hares for several years, and had them 
always before his eyes, was deceived by this mumbling move- 
ment of the jaws. Speaking of his favourite hare, " Puss," he 
proceeds as follows : " Finding him exceedingly tractable, I 
made it my custom to carry him always after breakfast into the 
garden, where he hid himself generally under the leaves of a 
cucumber vine, sleeping, or chewing the cud, till evening." 

The real object of this continual grinding or mumbling move- 
ment is simple enough. The chisel-like incisor teeth of the 
rodent animals need to be rubbed against each other, in order to 
preserve their edge and shape, and if perchance such friction 
should be wanting to a tooth, as, for example, by the breaking of 
the opposite tooth, it becomes greatly elongated, and sometimes 
grows to such a length as to prevent the animal from eating. 
Instinctively, therefore, the Hare, as well as the rabbit and 
other rodents, always likes to be nibbling at something, as any one 
knows who has kept rabbits in wooden hutches, the object of 

H2 



100 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

this nibbling not being to eat the wood, but to keep the teeth 
in order. 

But we may naturally ask ourselves, why the Mosaic law, an 
emanation from heaven, should mention an animal as being a 
ruminant, when its very structure shows that such an act was 
utterly imposible ? The answer is clear enough. The law was 
suited to the capacity of those for whom it was intended, and 
was never meant to be a handbook of science, as well as a code 
of religious duties and maxims. The Jews, like other Orientals, 
were indifferent to that branch of knowledge which we designate 
by the name of physical science, and it was necessary that the 
language in which the law was conveyed to them should be 
accommodated to their capabilities of receiving it 

It would have been worse than useless to have interrupted 
the solemn revelation of Divine will with a lesson in compara- 
tive anatomy ; the object of the passage in question being, not to 
teach the Jews the distinctive characteristics of a rodent and a 
ruminant, but to guard against their mistaking the Hare for one 
of the ruminants which were permitted as food. That they 
would in all probability have fallen into that mistake is evident 
from the fact that the Arabs are exceedingly fond of the flesh of 
the Hare, and accept it, as well as the camel, as lawful food, 
because it chews the cud, the division of the hoof not being 
considered by them as an essential. 

Hares are very plentiful in Palestine, and at least two species 
are found in that country. One of them, which inhabits the 
more northern and hilly portion of Palestine, closely resembles 
our own species, but has not ears quite so long in proportion, 
while the head is broader. The second species, which lives in 
the south, and in the valley of the Jordan, is very small, is of a 
light dun colour, and has very long ears. In their general 
habits, these Hares resemble the Hare of England. 



CATTLE, 101 



CATTLE. 

The cattle of Palestine, and their decadence at the present day — Ox-flesh not used 
for food in modern times — Oxen of the stall, and oxen of the pasture — The use 
of the ox in agriculture — The yoke and its structure —The plough and the goad 
— The latter capable of being used as a weapon — Treading out the corn — The 
cart and its wheels — The ox used as a beast of burden — Cattle turned loose to 
graze — The bulls of Bashan — Curiosity of the ox-tribe — A season of drought — 
Branding the cattle — An Egyptian field scene — Cattle -keeping an honourable 
post — The ex as used for sacrifice — Ox-worship — The bull Apis, and his history 
— Persistency of the bull-worship— Jeroboam's sin — Various names of cattle — 
The Indian buffalo. 

Under this head we shall treat of the domesticated oxen of 
Scripture, whether mentioned as Bull, Cow, Ox, Calf, Heifer, &c. 

Two distinct species of cattle are found in Palestine, namely, 
the ordinary domesticated ox, and the Indian buffalo, which 
lives in the low-lying and marshy valley of the Jordan. Of this 
species we shall treat presently. 

The domesticated cattle are very much like our own, but there 
is not among them that diversity of breed for which this country 
is famous ; nor is there even any distinction of long and short 
horned cattle. There are some places where the animals are 
larger than in others, but this difference is occasioned simply by 
the better quality and greater quantity of the food. 

As is the case in most parts of the world where civilization 
has made any progress, Domesticated Cattle were, and still are, 
plentiful in Palestine. Even at the present time the cattle are 
in common use, though it is evident, from many passages of 
Holy Writ, that in the days of Judaea's prosperity cattle were far 
more numerous than they are now, and were treated in a better 
fashion. 

To take their most sacred use first, a constant supply of cattle 
was needed for the sacrifices, and, as it was necessary that every 
animal which was brought to the altar should be absolutely 
perfect, it is evident that great care was required in ordei 



102 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

that the breed should not deteriorate, a skill which has long 
been rendered useless by the abandonment of the sacrifices. 

Another reason for their better nurture in the times of old is 
that in those days the ox was largely fed and fatted for the 
table, just as is done with ourselves. At the present day, the 
flesh of the cattle is practically unused as food, that of the sheep 
or goat being always employed, even when a man gives a feast 
to his friends. But, in the old times, stalled oxen, i. e. oxen kept 
asunder from those which were used for agricultural purposes, 
and expressly fatted for the table, were in constant use. See for 
example the well-known passage in the Pro v. xv. 17, "Better is 
a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred 
therewith." Again, the Prophet Jeremiah makes use of a 
curious simile, " Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction 
cometh ; it cometh out of the north. Also her hired men are in 
the midst of her like fatted bullocks [or, bullocks of the stall], 
for they also are turned back, and are fled away together." 
(Jer. xlvi. 20.) And in 1 Kings iv. 22, 23, when describing the 
glories of Solomon's household, the sacred writer draws a dis- 
tinction between the oxen which were especially fattened for the 
table of the king and the superior officers, and those which were 
consumed by the lower orders of his household : "And Solomon's 
provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and three- 
score measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the 
pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and 
fallow-deer, and fatted fowl." Again, in the well-known parable 
of the king's marriage, there is an allusion to fatted animals, and 
a distinction is made between the oxen of the pasture and those 
of the stall. " Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell 
them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my 
oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready." 

Calves — mostly, if not always, bull-calves — were largely used 
for food in Palestine, and in the households of the wealthy were 
fatted for the table. See, for example, the familiar parable of 
the prodigal son, in which the rejoicing father is mentioned as 
preparing a great feast in honour of his son's return, and ordering 
the fatted calf to be killed — the calf in question being evidently 
one of the animals that were kept in good condition against any 
festive occasion. And, even in the earliest history of the Bible, 
the custom of keeping a fatted calf evidently prevailed, as is 



CATTLE 103 

shown by the conduct of Abraham, who, when he was visited by 
the three heavenly guests, ■' ran unto the herd, and fetched a 
calf, tender and good," and had it killed and dressed at once, 
after the still existing fashion of the East. 

But, even in the times of Israel's greatest prosperity, the chief 
use of the ox was as an agricultural labourer, thus reversing the 
custom of this country, where the horse has taken the place of 
the ox as a beast of draught, and where cattle are principally 
fed for food. Ploughing was, and is, always performed by oxen, 
and allusions to this office are scattered plentifully through the 
Old and New Testaments. 

When understood in this sense, oxen are almost always 
spoken of in connexion with the word " yoke," and as each yoke 
comprised two oxen, it is evident that the word is used as we 
employ the term " brace," or pair. The yoke, which is the chief 
part of the harness, is a very simple affair. A tolerably stout 
beam of wood is cut of a sufficient length to rest upon the necks 
of the oxen standing side by side, and a couple of hollows are 
scooped out to receive the crest of the neck. In order to hold 
it in its place, two flexible sticks are bent under their necks, 
and the ends fixed into the beam of the yoke. In the middle 
of this yoke is fastened the pole of the plough or cart, and this 
is all the harness that is used, not even traces being required. 

It will be seen that so rude an implement as this would 
be very likely to gall the necks of the animals, unless the 
hollows were carefully smoothed, and the heavy beam adapted 
to the necks of the animals. This galling nature of the yoke, so 
familiar to the Israelites, is used repeatedly as a metaphor in 
many passages of the Old and New Testaments. These passages 
are too numerous to be quoted, but I will give one or two of the 
most conspicuous among them. The earliest mention of the 
yoke in the Scriptures is a metaphor. 

After Jacob had deceived his father, in procuring for himself 
the blessing which was intended for his elder brother, Isaac 
comforts Esau by the prophecy that, although he must serve his 
brother, yet " it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the 
dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." 
Again, in the next passage where the yoke is mentioned, namely, 
Lev. xxvi. 13, the word is employed in the metaphorical sense : 
" I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the 



104 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen, and I have 
broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright." 

Then, in Deut. xxviii. 48, the word yoke is not only used 
metaphorically, but with an addition that forcibly expresses its 
weight and galling character : " Therefore shalt thou serve thine 
enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and 
in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things, and He 
shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until He have destroyed 
thee." 

The word yoke is also used as a metaphor for servitude, even 
of a domestic character, as we may see in 1 Tim. vi. 1 : " Let as 
many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters 
worthy of all honour." In the Acts of the Apostles, we find 
St. Peter using the same metaphor : " Why tempt ye God, to 
put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our 
fathers nor we were able to bear ? " And the Lord Himself uses 
the same metaphor in the well-known passage, " Take my yoke 
upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden light." 

The plough was equally simple, and consisted essentially of a 
jent branch, one end of which was armed with an iron point by 
way of a share, while the other formed the pole or beam, and 
was fastened to the middle of the yoke. It was guided by a 
handle, which was usually a smaller branch that grew from the 
principal one A nearly similar instrument is used in Asia 
Minor to the present day, and is a curious relic of the most 
ancient times of history, for we find on the Egyptian monuments 
figures of the various agricultural processes, in which the plough 
is made after this simple manner. 

Of course such an instrument is a very ineffective one, and can 
but scratch, rather than plough the ground, the warmth of the 
climate and fertility of the land rendering needless the deep 
ploughing of our own country, where the object is to turn up 
the earth to the greatest possible depth. One yoke of oxen was 
generally sufficient to draw a plough, but occasionally a much 
greater number w T ere required. We read, for example, of Elisha, 
who, when he received his call from Elijah, was ploughing with 
twelve yoke of oxen, i. e. twenty-four. It has been suggested, 
that the twelve yoke of oxen were not all attached to the same 
plough, but that there were twelve ploughs, each with its single 
yoke of oxen. This, however, was scarcely likely to be the case, 




It is good for :i inun to hear the yoke in his youth."— Lam. iii. 21 
It maketh them also to skip like a calf."- Psalm xxix. 6 



CATTLE. 1 05 

as it is definitely stated that Elisha " was ploughing with twelve 
yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth," and it is 
much more probable that the land was heavy, and that, therefore, 
the plough could not be properly worked without the additional 
force. 

The instrument with which the cattle were driven was not a 
whip, but a goad. This goad was a long and stout stick, armed 
with a spike at one end, and having a kind of spud at the other, 
with which the earth could be scraped off the share when it 
became clogged. Such an instrument might readily be used as 
a weapon, and, in the hands of a powerful man, might be made 
even more formidable than a spear. As a weapon, it often was 
used, as we see from many passages of the Scriptures. For 
example, it is said in Judges iii. 31, " that Shamgar the son of 
Anath killed six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad." 

Afterwards, in the beginning of Saul's reign, when the 
Israelites fairly measured themselves against the Philistines, it 
was found that only Saul and Jonathan were even tolerably 
armed. Fearful of the numbers and spirit of the Israelites, the 
Philistines had disarmed them, and were so cautious that they 
did not even allow them to possess forges wherewith to make or 
sharpen the various agricultural instruments which they pos- 
sessed, lest they should surreptitiously provide themselves with 
weapons. The only smith's tool which they were allowed to 
retain was a file with which each man might trim the edges of the 
ploughshares, mattocks, axes, and sharpen the points of the goad. 
The only weapons which they could muster were made of their 
agricultural implements, and among the most formidable of 
them was the goad. 

How the goad came into use in Palestine may easily be seen. 
The Egyptians, from among whom the people of Israel passed 
into the Promised Land, did not use the goad in ploughing, but 
the whip, which, from the representations on the Egyptian 
monuments, was identical with the koorbash, or " cow-hide " 
whip, which is now in use in the same country. But this 
terrible whip, which is capable, when wielded by a skilful hand, 
of cutting deep grooves through the tough hide of the ox, could 
not be obtained by the Jews, because the hippopotamus, of whose 
hide it was made, did not live in or near Palestine. They 
therefore were forced to use some other instrument wherewith 



106 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

to urge on the oxen, and the goad was clearly the simplest and 
most effective implement for this purpose. 

After the land was ploughed and sown, and the harvest was 
ripened, the labours of the oxen were again called into requi- 
sition, first for threshing out the corn, and next for carrying or 
drawing the grain to the storehouses. 

In the earlier days, the process of threshing was very simple. 
A circular piece of ground was levelled, and beaten very hard 
and flat, its diameter being from fifty to a hundred feet. On^ 
this ground the corn was thrown, and a number of oxen were 
driven here and there on it, so that the constant trampling of 
their feet shook the ripe grain out of the ears. The corn was 
gathered together in the middle of the floor, and as fast as it 
was scattered by the feet of the oxen, it was thrown back 
towards the centre. 

Afterwards, an improvement was introduced in the form of a 
rough sledge, called " moreg," to which the oxen were harnessed 
by a yoke, and on which the driver stood as he guided his team 
round the threshing-floor. This instrument is mentioned in 
Isa. xli. 15 : "Behold, I will make thee a new and sharp threshing 
instrument having teeth [or mouths] : thou shalt thresh the moun- 
tains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff." 
Mention is also made of the same implement in 2 Sam. xxiv. 22 ? 
where it is related that Araunah the Jebusite offered to give 
David the oxen for a burnt-sacrifice, and the moregs and other 
implements as wood with which they could be burned. 

The work of treading out the corn was a hard and trying one 
for the oxen, and it was probably on this account that the kindly 
edict was made, that the oxen who trod out the corn should not 
be muzzled. As a rule, the cattle were not fed nearly as care- 
fully as is done with us, and so the labours of the threshing- 
floor would find a compensation in the temporary abundance of 
which the animals might take their fill. 

After the corn was threshed, or rather trodden out, the oxen 
had to draw it home in carts. These were but slight improve- 
ments on the threshing-sledge, and were simply trays or shallow 
boxes on a pair of wheels. As the wheels were merely slices cut 
from the trunk of a tree, and were not furnished with iron tires, 
they were not remarkable for roundness, and indeed, after a 
little time, were worn into rather irregular ovals, so that the task 



CATTLE. 



107 



of dragging a cart over the rough roads was by no means an 
easy one. And, as the axle was simply a stout pole fastened to 
the bottom of the cart, and having its rounded ends thrust 
through holes in the middle of the wheels, the friction was 
enormous. As, moreover, oil and grease were far too precious 




TKKADJNO OUT CORN. 

" Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.'' — (Deut. xxv. iv.) 



luxuries to be wasted in lubricating the axles, the creaking 
and groaning of the wheels was a singularly disagreeable and 
ear-piercing sound. 

The common hackery of India is a good example of the carts 
mentioned in the Scriptures. As with the plough, the cart was 
drawn by a couple of oxen, connected by the yoke. The two 
kinds of cart, namely, the tray and the box, are clearly indicated 
in the Scriptures. The new cart on which the Ark was placed 



108 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

when it was sent back by the Philistines (see 1 Sam. vi. 7) was 
evidently one of the former kind, and so was that which was 
made twenty years afterwards, for the purpose of conveying the 
Ark to Jerusalem. 

The second kind of cart is mentioned by the Prophet Amos 
(ch. ii. 13), "Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is 
pressed that is full of sheaves," reference being evidently made 
to heaping up of the sheaves in the cart, and pressing them 
down, as is done at the present day. 

That oxen were also employed as beasts of burden is shown 
by the passage in 1 Chron. xii. 40, " Moreover, they that were 
nigh them, even unto Issachar. and Zebulun, and Napthali, 
brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on 
oxen." 

Although the cattle were evidently better tended in the olden 
times than at present, those animals which were used for agri- 
culture seem to have passed rather a rough life, especially in the 
winter time. It is rather curious that the Jews should have 
had no idea of preserving the grass by making it into hay, as is 
done in Europe. Consequently the chief food of the cattle was 
the straw and chaff which remained on the threshing-floor after 
the grain had been separated. See Isa. xxx. 23 : "In that day 
shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise, and 
the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, 
which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan." 

This, indeed, was the only use to which the straw could be 
put, for it was so crushed and broken by the feet of the oxen 
and the threshing-sledge that it was rendered useless. Allusion 
is made to the crushing of the straw in many passages of Scrip- 
ture. See, for example, Isa. xxv. 10, " Moab shall be trodden 
down [or threshed] under him, even as straw is trodden down 
for the dunghill." 

The want of winter forage is the chief reason why cattle are 
so irregularly disposed over Palestine, many parts of that 
country being entirely without them, and only those districts 
containing them in which fresh forage may be found throughout 
the year. 

Except a few yoke of oxen, which are kept in order to draw 
carts, and act as beasts of burden, the cattle are turned loose 
for a considerable portion of the year, and run about in herds 



CATTLE. 109 

from one pasturage to another. Thus they regain many of the 
characteristics of wild animals, and it is to this habit of theirs 
that many of the Scriptural allusions can be traced. 

For example, see Ps. xxii. 12, " Many bulls have com- 
passed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They 
gaped on me with their mouths [or, their mouths opened against 
me] as a ravening and a roaring lion." This passage alludes to 
the curiosity inherent in cattle, which have a habit of following 
objects which they do not understand or dislike, and surround- 
ing it with looks of grave wonderment. Even in their domesti- 
cated state this habit prevails. When I was a boy, T sometimes 
amused myself with going into a field where a number of cows 
and oxen were grazing, and lying down in the middle of it. 
The cattle would soon become uneasy, toss their heads about, 
and gradually draw near on every side, until at last they would 
be pressed together closely in a circle, with their heads just 
above the object of their astonishment. Their curious, earnest 
looks have always been present to my mind when reading the 
above quoted passage. 

The Psalmist does not necessarily mean that the bulls in 
question were dangerous animals. On the contrary, the bulls 
of Palestine are gentle in comparison with our own animals, 
which are too often made savage by confinement and the harsh 
treatment to which they are subjected by rough and ignorant 
labourers. In Palestine a pair of bulls may constantly be seen 
attached to the same yoke, a thing that never would be seen in 
this country. 

The custom of turning the herds of cattle loose to find 
pasture for themselves is alluded to in Joel i. 18, " How do 
the beasts groan ! the herds of cattle are perplexed because they 
have no pasture." We can easily imagine to ourselves the 
terrible time to which the prophet refers, " when the rivers 
of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pas- 
tures of the wilderness," as it is wont to do when a spark 
falls upon grass dried up and withered, by reason of the sun's 
heat and the lack of water. Over such a country, first withered 
by drought, and then desolated by fire, would the cattle wander, 
vainly searching on the dusty and blackened surface for the 
tender young blades which always spring up on a burnt pasture 
as soon as the first rains falL Moaning and bellowing with 



110 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

thirst and disappointment, they would vainly seek for food or 
water in places where the seed lies still under the clods where it 
was sown (v. 17), where the vines are dried up, and the fig, the 
pomegranate and the palm (v. 12) are all withered for want of 
moisture. 

Such scenes are still to be witnessed in several parts of the 
world. Southern Africa is sometimes sadly conspicuous for 
them, an exceptional season of drought keeping back the fresh 
grass after the old pastures have been burned (the ordinary mode 
of cultivating pastuie land). Then the vast herds of cattle, 
whose milk forms the staff of life to the inhabitants, wander to 
and fro, gathering in masses round any spot where a spring still 
yields a little water, and bellowing and. moaning with thirst as 
they press their way towards the spot where their owners are 
doling out to each a small measure of the priceless fluid. 

The cattle are branded with the mark of their owners, so that 
in these large herds there might be no difficulty in distinguish- 
ing them when they were re-captured for the plough and the 
cart. On one of the Egyptian monuments there is a very 
interesting group, which has furnished the idea for the plate 
which illustrates this article. It occurs in the tombs of the 
kings at Thebes, and represents a ploughing scene. The simple 
two-handled plough is being dragged by a pair of cows, who 
have the yoke fastened across the horns instead of lying on 
the neck, and a sower is following behind, scattering the grain 
out of a basket into the newly-made furrows. In front of the 
cows is a young calf, which has run to meet its mother, and is 
leaping for joy before her as she steadily plods along her course. 

The action of both animals is admirably represented; the 
8teady and firm gait of the mother contrasting with the light, 
gambolling step and arched tail of her offspring. Both are 
branded with the same mark, namely, three equal-armed crosses, 
one on the haunch, another on the side, and a third on the neck. 
The driver carries the whip, or koorbash, which has been already 
mentioned, and which is familiar to travellers in Southern Africa 
under the title of " sjambok." 

In the olden times of the Israelitish race, herd-keeping was 
considered as an honourable occupation, in which men of the 
highest rank might engage without any derogation to their 
dignity. We find, for instance, that Saul himself, even after he 



CATTLE. Ill 

had been appointed king, was acting as herdsman when the 
people saw the mistake they had made in rejecting him as their 
monarch, and came to fetch their divinely-appointed leader from 
his retirement. (See 1 Sam. xi. 5.) Doeg,too, the faithful com- 
panion of Saul, was made the chief herdsman of his master's 
cattle, so that for Saul to confer such an office, and Doeg to 
accept it, shows that the post was one of much honour. And 
afterwards, when David was in the zenith of his power, he 
completed the organization of his kingdom, portioning out not 
only his army into battalions, and assigning a commanding 
officer to each battalion, but also appointing a ruler to each 
tribe, and setting officers over his treasury, over the vineyards, 
over the olive-trees, over the storehouses, and over the cattle. And 
these offices were so important that the names of their holders 
are given at length in 1 Chron. xxvii. those of the various herds- 
men being thought as worthy of mention as those of the 
treasurers, the military commanders, or the headmen of the 
tribes. 

Before concluding this necessarily short account of the domes- 
ticated oxen of Palestine, it will be needful to give a few lines 
to the animal viewed in a religious aspect. Here we have, in 
bold contrast to each other, the divine appointment of certain 
cattle to be slain as sacrifices, and the reprobation of worship 
paid to those very cattle as living emblems of divinity. This 
false worship was learned by the Israelites during their long 
residence in Egypt, and so deeply had the customs of the Egyp- 
tian religion sunk into their hearts, that they were not eradi- 
cated after the lapse of centuries. It may easily be imagined 
that such a superstition, surrounded as it was with every ex- 
ternal circumstance which could make it more imposing, would 
take a powerful hold of the Jewish mind. 

Chief among the multitude of idols or symbols was the god 
Apis, represented by a bull. Many other animals, specially the 
cat and the ibis, were deeply honoured among the ancient Egyp- 
tians, as we learn from their own monuments and from the 
works of the old historians. All these creatures were symbols 
as well as idols, symbols to the educated and idols to the 
ignorant. 

None of them was held in such universal honour as the bull 
Apis. The particular animal which represented the deity, and 



112 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

which was lodged with great state and honour in his temple at 
Memphis, was thought to be divinely selected for the purpose, 
and to be impressed with certain marks. His colour must be 
black, except a square spot on the forehead, a crescent-shaped 
white spot on the right side, and the figure of an eagle on his 
back. Under the tongue must be a knob shaped like the sacred 
scarabseus, and the hairs of his tail must be double. 

This representative animal was only allowed to live for a 
certain time, and when he had reached this allotted period, he 
was taken in solemn procession to the Nile, and drowned in 
its sacred waters. His body was then embalmed, and placed 
with great state in the tombs at Memphis. 

After his death, whether natural or not, the whole nation 
went into mourning, and exhibited all the conventional signs of 
sorrow, until the priests found another bull which possessed 
the distinctive marks. The people then threw off their mourn- 
ing robes, and appeared in their best attire, and the sacred bull 
was exhibited in state for forty days before he was taken to his 
temple at Memphis. The reader will here remember the analo- 
gous case of the Indian cattle, some of which are held to be 
little less than incarnations of divinity. 

Even at the very beginning of the exodus, when their minds 
must have been filled with the many miracles that had been 
wrought in their behalf, and with the cloud and fire of Sinai 
actually before their eyes, Aaron himself made an image of a 
calf in gold, and set it up as a symbol of the Lord. That the idol 
in question was intended as a symbol by Aaron is evident from 
the words which he used when summoning the people to worship, 
" To-morrow is a feast of the Lord " (Gen. xxxii. 5). The people, 
however, clearly lacked the power of discriminating between the 
symbol and that which it represented, and worshipped the image 
just as any other idol might be worshipped. And, in spite of 
the terrible and swift punishment that followed, and which 
showed the profanity of the act, the idea of ox- worship still 
remained among the people. 

Five hundred years afterwards we find a familiar example of 
it in the conduct of Jeroboam, "who made Israel to sin," the 
peculiar crime being the open resuscitation of ox-worship. " The 
king made two calves of gold and said unto them, It is too much 
for you to go up to Jerusalem : behold thy gods, Israel, which 



CATTLE. 113 

brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one 
in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. . . . And he made an 
house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the 
people, which were not of the tribe of Levi. And Jeroboam 
ordained a feast. . . . like unto the feast in Judah, and he 
offered upon the alter. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto 
the calves that he had made." 

Here we have a singular instance of a king of Israel repeat- 
ing, after a lapse of five hundred years, the very acts which had 
drawn down on the people so severe a punishment, and which 
were so contrary to the law that they had incited Moses to fling 
down and break the sacred tables on which the commandments 
had been divinely inscribed. Nothing is omitted : the shape of 
the idol, the material of which it is composed, the offerings, and 
the very words in which Aaron had so deeply sinned, " Behold 
thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land 
of Egypt." Successive monarchs followed his example, and, 
according to the graphic words of Scripture, they " departed not 
from the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel 
to sin." 

As was likely to be the case in a land where cattle were of 
such importance, and often formed the principal wealth of the 
inhabitants, many words were in use to distinguish the cattle 
according to sex, age, and number. Thus, Bakar signifies the 
adult animal of either sex, the test of full growth being fitness 
for the plough. Consequently, Ben-Baka, or son of the herd 
signifies a male calf, and Aiglah-Bakar, a female calf. The term 
Bakar is derived from a Hebrew word signifying to cleave or 
plough, and hence it is used as to signify those animals which 
are old enough to be put to the plough. 

Then there is the word Shor, or Tor, to signify a single head 
of cattle, of any age, or of either sex. The second form of this 
word is familiar to us in the Latin word " taurus," and the 
English " steer." There are several other words, such as Par, a 
young bull, and Parah, a heifer, which do not need explanation, 



114 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



Another species of the ox -tribe now inhabits Palestine, 
though commentators rather doubt whether it is not a compa- 
ratively late importation. This is the true Buffalo {Bvhalus 
buffielics, Gray), which is spread over a very large portion of the 
earth, and is very plentiful in India. In that country there 
are two distinct breeds of the Buffalo, namely, the Arnee, a wild 




THR BUFFALO. 



variety, and the Bhainsa, a tamed variety. The former animal 
is much larger than the latter, being sometimes more than ten 
feet in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and measur- 
ing between six and seven feet in height at the shoulder. Its 
horns are of enormous length, the tail is very short, and tufts of 
hair grow on the forehead and horns. The tamed variety is at 
least one-third smaller, and, unlike the Arnee, never seems to 
get into high condition. It is an ugly, ungainly kind of beast, 
and is rendered very unprepossessing to the eye by the bald 
patches which are mostly found upon its hide. 



CATTLE. 115 

Being a water-loving animal, the Buffalo always inhabits the 
low-lying districts, and is fond of wallowing in the oozy marshes 
in which it remains for hours, submerged all but its head, and 
tranquilly chewing the cud while enjoying its mud-bath. While 
thus engaged the animal depresses its horns so that they are 
scarcely visible, barely allowing more than its eyes, ears, and 
nostrils to remain above the surface, so that the motionless 
heads are scarcely distinguishable from the grass and reed tufts 
which stud the marshes. Nothing is more startling to an inex- 
perienced traveller than to pass by a silent and tranquil pool 
where the muddy surface is unbroken except by a number of 
black lumps and rushy tufts, and then to see these tufts suddenly 
transformed into twenty or thirty huge beasts rising out of the 
still water as if by magic. Generally, the disturber of their 
peace had better make the best of his way out of their reach, as 
the Buffalo, whether wild or tame, is of a tetchy and irritable 
nature, and resents being startled out of its state of dreamy 
repose. 

In the Jordan valley the Buffalo is found, and is used for 
agriculture, being of the Bhainsa, or domesticated variety. 
Being much larger and stronger than the ordinary cattle, it is 
useful in drawing the plough, but its temper is too uncertain 
to render it a pleasant animal to manage. As is the case with 
all half-wild cattle, its milk is very scanty, but compensates 
by the richness of the quality for the lack of quantity. 



116 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE WILD BULL. 

The To, Wild Bull of the Old Testament — Passages in which it is mentioned — The 
Wild Bull in the net — Hunting with nets in the East — The Oryx supposed to 
be the To of Scripture — Description of the Oryx, its locality, appearance, and 
habits — The points in which the Oryx agrees with the To — The "snare" in 
which the foot is taken, as distinguished from the net. 

In two passages of the Old Testament an animal is mentioned, 
respecting which the translators and commentators have been 
somewhat perplexed, in one passage being translated as the 
" Wild Ox," and in the other as the " Wild Bull." In the 
Jewish Bible the same rendering is preserved, but the sign of 
doubt is added to the word in both cases, showing that the 
translation is an uncertain one. 

The first of these passages occurs in Deut. xiv. 5, where it is 
classed together with the ox, sheep, goats, and other ruminants, 
as one of the beasts which were lawful for food. Now, although 
we cannot identify it by this passage, we can at all events ascer- 
tain two important points — the first, that it was a true ruminant, 
and the second, that it was not the ox, the sheep, or the goat. 
It was, therefore, some wild ruminant, and we now have to ask 
how we are to find out the species. 

If we turn to Isa. li. 20, we shall find a passage which will 
help us considerably. Addressing Jerusalem, the prophet uses 
these words, " By whom shall I comfort thee ? Thy sons have 
fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in 
a net ; they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of 
thy God." We now see that the To or Teo must l^e an animal 
which is captured by means of nets, and therefore must inhabit 
spots wherein the toils can be used. Moreover, it is evidently 
a powerful animal, or the force of the simiie would be lost. 
The prophet evidently refers to some large and strong beast 
which has been entangled in the hunter's nets, and which lies 
helplessly struggling in them. We are, therefore, almost per- 
force driven to recognise it as some large antelope. 



THE WILD BULL. 11? 

The expression used by the prophet is so characteristic that 
it needs a short explanation. In this country, and at the present 
day, the use of the net is almost entirely restricted to fishing 
and bird-catching ; but in the East nets are still employed in the 
capture of very large game. 

A brief allusion to the hunting-net is made at page 27, but, as 
the passage in Isaiah li. requires a more detailed account of this 
mode of catching large animals, it will be as well to describe 
the sport as at present practised in the East. 

When a king or some wealthy man determines to hunt game 
without taking much trouble himself, he gives orders to his men 
to prepare their nets, which vary in size or strength according to 
the particular animal for which they are intended. If, for ex- 
ample, only the wild boar and similar animals are to be hunted, 
the nets need not be of very great width ; but for agile creatures, 
such as the antelope, they must be exceedingly wide, or the 
intended prey will leap over them. As the net is much used in 
India for the purpose of catching game, Captain Williamson's 
description of it will explain many of the passages of Scripture 
wherein it is mentioned. 

The material of the net is hemp, twisted loosely into a kind 
of rope, and the mode in which it is formed is rather peculiar. 
The meshes are not knotted together, but only twisted round 
each other, much after the fashion of the South American ham- 
mocks, so as to obtain considerable elasticity, and to prevent a 
powerful animal from snapping the cord in its struggles. Some 
of these nets are thirteen feet or more in width, and even such 
a net as this has been overleaped by a herd of antelopes. Their 
length is variable, but, as they can be joined in any number when 
set end to end, the length is not so important as the width. 

The mode of setting the nets is singularly ingenious. When 
a suitable spot has been selected, the first care of the hunters is 
to stretch a rope as tightly as possible along the ground. For 
this purpose stout wooden stakes or truncheons are sunk cross- 
wise in the earth, and between these the rope is carefully 
strained. The favourite locality of the net is a ravine, through 
which the animals can be driven so as to run against the net in 
their efforts to escape, and across the ravine a whole row of 
these stakes is sunk. The net is now brought to the spot, 
and its lower edge fastened strongly to the ground rope. 



118 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The strength of this mode of fastening is astonishing, and, 
although the stakes are buried scarcely a foot below the surface, 
they cannot be torn up by any force which can be applied to 
them ; and, however strong the rope may be, it would be broken 
before the stakes could be dragged out of the ground 

A smaller rope is now attached to the upper edge of the 
net, which is raised upon a series of slight poles. It is not 
stretched quite tightly, but droops between each pair of poles, 
so that a net which is some thirteen feet in width will only give 
nine or ten feet of clear height when the upper edge is sup- 
ported on the poles. These latter are not fixed in the ground, 
but merely held in their places by the weight of the net resting 
upon them. 

When the nets have been properly set, the beaters make a 
wide circuit through the country, gradually advancing towards 
the fatal spot, and driving before them all the wild animals that 
inhabit the neighbourhood. As soon as any large beast, such, 
for example, as an antelope, strikes against the net, the support- 
ing pole falls, and the net collapses upon the unfortunate animal, 
whose struggles — especially if he be one of the horned animals 
— only entangle him more and more in the toils. 

As soon as the hunters see a portion of the net fall, they run 
to the spot, kill the helpless creature that lies enveloped in the 
elastic meshes, drag away the body, and set up the net again 
in readiness for the next comer. Sometimes the line of nets 
will extend for half a mile or more, and give employment to a 
large staff of hunters, in killing the entangled animals, and 
raising afresh those portions of the net which had fallen. 

Allusions to this mode of hunting are plentiful, in the Old 
Testament. Take, for example, Job xviii. 7 : " The steps of his 
strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him 
down ; for he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh 
upon a snare." And again in the next chapter, ver. 6, " Know 
now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with 
His net," in which is depicted forcibly the helpless state of 
one on whom the net has fallen, and who is lying on the ground 
vainly struggling in the meshes. 

See also Ps. lvii. 6, " They have prepared a net for my steps, 
my soul is bowed down ; " and Ps. lxvi. 11, " Thou broughtest us 
into the net, thou laidest affliction upon our loins." In the 



THE WILD BUIJL. 



19 



prophet Ezekiel are several passages which refer to the hunting 
net, and make especial mention of the manner in which it falls 
over its victim. One of these occurs in chap. xii. 13, - " My 
net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my 
snare." Again in chap. xix. 8, " Then the nations set against 
him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over 
him " In this passage a forcible allusion is made to the manner 




WILD BULL, OR ORVX. 

" They lie at the head, of all the streets, like a wild bull in a net." — Isaiah li. 21. 



in which the wild animal is surrounded by the hunters, who 
surround and gradually close in upon them, as they drive their 
victims into the toils. The same combination of the hunters is 
also referred to by the prophet Micah, vii. 2, " There is none 
upright among men : they all lie in wait for blood ; they hunt 
every man his brother with a net," 

Accepting the theory that the To is one of the large antelopes 
that inhabit, or used to inhabit, the Holy Land and its neigh- 



120 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

bourhood, we may safely conjecture that it may signify the 
beautiful animal known as the Oryx {Oryx leucoryx), an animal 
which has a tolerably wide range, and is even now found on the 
borders of the Holy Land. It is a large and powerful antelope, 
and is remarkable for its beautiful horns, which sometimes 
exceed a yard in length, and sweep in a most graceful curve over 
the back. 

Sharp as they are, and evidently formidable weapons, the 
manner in which they are set on the head renders them appa- 
rently unserviceable for combat. When, however, the Oryx is 
brought to bay, or wishes to fight, it stoops its head until the 
nose is close to the ground, the points of the horns being thus 
brought to the front. As the head is swung from side to side, 
the curved horns sweep through a considerable space, and are so 
formidable that even the lion is chary of attacking their owner. 
Indeed, instances are known where the lion has been transfixed 
and killed by the horns of the Oryx. Sometimes the animal 
is not content with merely standing to repel the attacks of its 
adversaries, but suddenly charges forward with astonishing rapi- 
dity, and strikes upwards with its horns as it makes the leap. 

But these horns, which can be used with such terrible effect 
in battle, are worse than useless when the animal is hampered 
in the net. In vain does the Oryx attempt its usual defence : 
the curved horns get more and more entangled in the elastic 
meshes, and become a source of weakness rather than strength. 
We see now how singularly appropriate is the passage, " Thy 
sons lie at the heads of all the streets, as a wild bull (or Oryx) 
in a net," and how completely the force of the metaphor is lost 
without a knowledge of the precise mode of fixing the nets, of 
driving the animals into them, and of the manner in which they 
render even the large and powerful animals helpless. 

The height of the Oryx at the shoulder is between three and 
four feet, and its colour is greyish white, mottled profusely with 
black and brown in bold patches. It is plentiful in Northern 
Africa, and, like many other antelopes, lives in herds, so that it 
is peculiarly suited to that mode of hunting which consists in 
surrounding a number of animals, and driving them into a trap 
of some kind, whether a fenced enclosure, a pitfall, or a net. 

There is, by the way, the term "snare," which is specially 
used with especial reference to catching the foot as distinguished 



THE RE&M, OR "UNICORN " OF SCRIPTURE. 121 

from the net which enveloped the whole body. For example, 
in Job xviii. 8, " He is cast into a net, he walketh on a snare," 
where a bold distinction is drawn between the two and their 
mode of action. And in ver. 10, " The snare is laid for him in 
the ground." Though I would not state definitely that such is 
the case, I believe that the snare which is here mentioned is one 
which is still used in several parts of the w r orld. 

It is simply a hoop, to the inner edge of which are fastened 
a number of elastic spikes, the points being directed towards the 
centre. This is merely laid in the path which the animal will 
take, and is tied by a short cord to a log of wood. As the deer 
or antelope treads on the snare, the foot passes easily through 
the elastic spikes, but, when the foot is raised, the spikes run 
into the joint and hold the hoop upon the limb. Terrified by 
the check and the sudden pang, the animal tries to run away, 
but, by the united influence of sharp spikes and the heavy log, 
it is soon forced to halt, and so becomes an easy prey to its 
pursuers. 



THE REEM, OR "UNICORN" OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Reem evidently known to the Jews — Various theories concerning the Uni- 
corn — Supposed identity with the Indian Rhinoceros - Passages of Scripture 
alluding to the strength, violent and intractable temper of the Reem— The 
Reem a two-horned animal — Its evident connection with the Ox tribe — Its 
presumed identity with the now extinct Urus — Mr. Dawkins' treatise on the 
Urus — Enormous size and dangerous character of the Urus — Rabbinical legend 
of the Reem — Identity of the Urus with the modern varieties of cattle — The 
Bull hunts of Nineveh. 

There are many animals mentioned in the Scriptures which 
cannot be identified with any certainty, partly because their 
names occur only once or twice in the sacred writings, and 
partly because, when they are mentioned, the context affords no 
clue to their identity by giving any hint as to their appearance 
or habits. In such cases, although the translators would have 
done better if they had simply given the Hebrew word without 
endeavouring to identify it with any known animal, they may 
be excused for committins: errors in their nomenclature. There 



122 BIBLE ANIMALS 

is one animal, however, for which no such excuse can be found 
and this is the Reem of Scripture, translated as Unicorn in the 
authorized version. 

Now the word Reem is mentioned seven times in the Old 
Testament, and is found, not in one, but several books, showing 
that it was an animal perfectly well known to those for whom 
the sacred books were written. It is twice mentioned in the 
Pentateuch, several times in the Psalms, once in the book of 
Job, once by Isaiah, and reference is once made to it in the 
historical books. In these various passages, abundant details 
are given of its aspect and habits, so that there is very little 
doubt as to the identity of the animal. 

The Septuagint translates Reem by the word Monoceros, or 
the One-horned, which has been transferred to the Vulgate by 
the term Unicornis, a word having the same signification. 

In an age when scientific investigation was utterly neglected, 
such a translation would readily be accepted without cavil, and 
there is no doubt that the generality of those who read the 
passages in question accepted them as referring to the Unicorn 
of heraldry with which we, as Englishmen, are so familiar. I may 
perhaps mention briefly that such an animal is a physiological 
impossibility, and that the Unicorn of the fables was a mere 
compound of an antelope, a horse, and a narwhal. The tusks or 
teeth of the narwhal were in former days exhibited as horns of 
the Unicorn, and so precious were they that one of them was 
laid up in the cathedral of St. Denis, and two in the treasury of 
St. Mark's at Venice, all of which were exhibited in the year 
1658 as veritable Unicorns' horns. 

The physiological difficulty above mentioned seems to have 
troubled the minds of the old writers, who saw that an ivory 
horn had no business to grow upon the junction of the two 
bones of the skull, and yet felt themselves bound to acknowledge 
that such an animal did really exist. They therefore put them- 
selves to vast trouble in accounting for such a phenomenon, and, 
in their determination to believe in the animal, invented theories 
nearly as wonderful as the existence of the Unicorn itself. 

One of these theories, arguing that the two horns may be as 
i asily fused together as the hoofs, is stated as follows. " Because 
the middle is equally distant from both the extremes : and the 
hoof of this beast may be well said to be cloven and whole, 



THE REEM, OR " UNICORN " OF SCRIPTURE. 123 

because the horn is of the substance of the hoof, and the hoof 
of the substance of the horn, and therefore the horn is whole 
and the hoof cloven ; for the cleaving either of the horn or of 
the hoof cometh from the defect of nature, and therefore God 
hath given to horses and asses whole hoofs, because there is 
greatest use of their legs, but unto Unicorns a whole and entire 
horn, that, as the ease of man is procured by the help of horses, 
so the health of them is procured by the horn of the Unicorn." 

This last sentence refers to the then universal belief, that the 
horn of the Unicorn was a panacea for all illness and an anti- 
dote to all poisons. It was thought to be so sensitive, that if a 
poisoned cup were but brought near it a thick moisture would 
exude from its surface, and if fragments were thrown into the 
cup they would cause the liquid to swell and bubble, and at 
last to boil over. This supposed virtue forms the basis of an 
argument used by one of the writers on the subject, and, as the 
passage affords a good example of theological argument in 1658, 
it will be given entire. 

After enumerating various animals (and, by the way, once 
actually hitting upon the " fish called Monoceros," i.e. the 
narwhal), the writer proceeds as follows, in the quaint and 
nervous English of his time : " Now oui discourse of the Uni- 
corn is of none of these beasts, for there is not any virtue 
attributed to their horns, and therefore the vulgar sort of infidel 
people, which scarcely believe any herb but such as they see in 
their own gardens, or any beast but such as is in their own flocks, 
or any knowledge but such as is bred in their own brains, or any 
birds which are not hatched in their own nests, have never made 
question of these ; but of the true Unicorn, whereof there were 
more proofs in the world, because of the nobleness of his horn, 
they have ever been in doubt. By which distinction it appeareth 
unto me that there is some secret enemy in the inward degenerate 
nature of man, which continually blindeth the eyes of God His 
people, from beholding and believing the greatness of God His 
works. 

" But to the purpose : that there is such a beast, the Scripture 
itself witnesseth, for David thus speaketh in the 92d Psalm, Et 
erigetur cornu mens tanquam Monocerotis. That is, ' My horn 
shall be lifted up like the horn of a Unicorn.' Whereupon all 
divines that ever wrote have not only collected that there is a 



124 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Unicorn, but also affirm the similitude to be betwixt the king- 
dom of David and the horn of the Unicorn, that as the horn of 
the Unicorn is wholesome to all beasts and creatures, so should 
be the kingdom of David to the generation of Christ. 

" And do we think that David would compare the vertue of 
his kingdom and the powerful redemption of the world, unto a 
thing that is not, or is uncertain, or is fantastical ? God forbid 
that ever any man should so do despight to the Holy Ghost. 
For this cause we read also in Suidas, that good men who wor- 
ship God and follow His laws are compared to Unicorns, whose 
greater parts, as their whole bodies, are unprofitable and untame- 
able, yet their horn maketh them excellent ; so in good men, 
although their fleshy parts be good for nothing, and fall down to 
the earth, yet their grace and piety exalteth their souls to the 
heavens.'"'* 

In late years, after the true origin of the Unicorn's horn was 
discovered, and the belief in its many virtues abandoned, the 
Reem, or Monoceros, was almost unhesitatingly identified with 
the rhinoceros of India, and for a long time this theory was the 
accepted one. It is now, however, certain that the Reem was 
not the rhinoceros, and that it can be almost certainly identified 
with an animal which, at the time when the passages in question 
were written, wao plentiful in Palestine, although, like the lion, 
it is now extinct. 

We will now take in their order the seven passages in which 
the animal is mentioned, substituting the word Ree^m for 
Unicorn. 

The first of these passages occurs in Numbers xxiii., where the 
remarkable prophecies of Balaam are recorded. " The Lord his 
God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God 
brought them out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of 
Reem : " (ver. 21, 22). From this passage we gain one piece of 
information, namely, that the Reem was an exceptionally power- 
ful animal. Indeed, it was evidently the strongest animal that 
was known to the prophet and his hearers, or it would not have 
been mentioned as a visible type of Divine power. 

Next we come to Deut. xxxiii., wherein another prophecy is 
revealed, namely, that of Moses, just before his death and mys- 
terious burial. Speaking of Joseph and his tribe, the aged 
prophet uses these words, " Let the blessing come upon the head 



THE RE$M, OE " UNICORN " OF SCRIPTURE. 125 

of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was sepa- 
rated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his 
bullock, and his horns are like the horns of Reem : with them 
he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth ; and 
they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the 
thousands of Manasseh" (ver. 16, 17). 

In this passage we gather more information. In the first 
place it is to be noticed that the Re£m is mentioned in connexion 
with the domestic cattle, and that the name is used as one that 
is familiar to the hearers. Next, as the marginal reading gives 
the word, Reem is used in the singular and not in the plural 
number, so that the passage may be read, " his horns are like the 
horns of a Unicorn." Thus we come to the important point 
that the Reem was not a one-horned, but a two-horned animal. 

It may here be remarked that the Reem horns were the 
emblem of the two tribes that sprung from Joseph, Ephraim 
and Manasseh, himself being typified by the Reem, and his two 
powerful sons by the horns. 

Next, in the Psalms, we find that the powerful, two-horned 
Reem was also a dangerous and violent animal. (See Psa. xxii. 
19, 21.) 

" Be not Thou far from me, Lord : my strength, haste Thee 
■to help me. 

" Deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power 
(or the hand) of the dog. 

" Save me from the lion's mouth : for Thou hast heard me 
from the horns of Reem." 

In Ps. xcii. there is another allusion to the powerful horns of 
the Reem. " For lo, Thine enemies, Lord, for lo, Thine enemies 
shall perish ; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But 
my horn shalt Thou exalt like the horn of Re£m." 

From these passages we gather the following important points. 
First, the Reem was an animal familiar to the people of Palestine, 
as is evident from the manner in which its name is introduced 
into the sacred writings ; secondly, it was the most powerful 
animal known to the Israelites ; thirdly, it was a two-horned 
animal; fourthly, it was a savage and dangerous beast; and 
fifthly, it had some connexion with the domesticated cattle. 

This last-mentioned point is brought out more strongly in the 
remaining passages of Scripture. In Job, for example, a parallel 



126 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is drawn between the wild and untameable Re'em and the beasts 
of draught and burden. 

In that magnificent series of passages in which the Lord 
answers Job out of the whirlwind, and which indeed are a 
worthy sequel to Elihu's impassioned discourse on the text that 
" God is greater than man," the wild animals are mentioned in 
evident contrast to the tame. First come the wild goats of the 
rock ; then the wild ass, who " scorneth the multitude of the city, 
neither regardeth the crying of the driver ; " and then the Reem, 
which is clearly contrasted with the tamed ox. 

" Will Reem be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib ? 
Canst thou bind Reem with his band in the furrow ? or will he 
harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because 
his strength is great ? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him ? 
Wilt thou believe him that he will bring home thy seed, and 
gather it in thy barn ? " See chap, xxxix. 9 — 12. 

Now in these passages, the principal duties of the domes- 
ticated cattle are described — the ploughing the furrow, the 
drawing of the harrow, and the carrying home of the ripened 
corn, for all which purposes the tameless spirit of Reem renders 
him useless, in spite of his vast strength. The prophet Isaiah 
has a passage in which the Reem is evidently classed with the 
ox tribe. See chap, xxxiv. 6, 7. 

" The sword of the Lord is filled with blood ; it is made fat 
with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the 
fat of the kidneys of rams : for the Lord hath a sacrifice in 
Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And 
Reem shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the 
bulls ; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust 
made fat with fatness." 

The last passage in which reference is made to this animal is 
in Ps. xxix. 5, 6. 

" The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ; yea, the Lord 
breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip 
like a calf ; Lebanon and Sirion like a young Reem." 

On turning to the Jewish Bible we find that the word Reem 
is translated as buffalo, and there is no doubt that this rendering 
is nearly the correct one, and at the present day naturalists are 
nearly all agreed that the Reem of the Old Testament must have 
been the now extinct Urus. A smaller animal, the Bonassus or 



THE REEM, OR "UNICORN" OF SCRIPTURE. 127 

Bison, also existed in Palestine, and even to the present day 
continues to maintain itself in one or two spots, though it will 
probably be as soon completely erased from the surface of the 
earth as its gigantic congener. 

That the Reem was one of the two animals is certain, and 
that it was the larger is nearly as certain. The reason for 
deciding upon the Urus is, that its horns were of great size and 
strength, and therefore agree with the description of the Eeem ; 
whereas those of the Bonassus, although powerful, are short, and 
not conspicuous enough to deserve the notice which is taken 
of them by the sacred writers. 

Of the extinct variety we know but little. We do know, 
however, that it was a huge and most formidable animal, as 
is evident from the skulls and other bones which have been 
discovered. 

Hitherto there has been considerable difficulty in treating of 
the ancient Urus, on account of the great confusion which existed 
in the various synonyms that were given to the animal. The 
tangled skein has, however, been carefully unravelled by Mr. W. 
Boyd Dawkins, M.A., F.R.S., who has published an exceedingly 
valuable paper on the subject in the Quarterly Journal of the 
Geological Society, March 21, 1866. 

After describing the general character of the Urus, he proceeds 
to remark : " The synonyms of the Bos Urus are in a state of very 
great confusion, arising from the fact that the two words denoting 
two distinct species, the Urox and the Aurochs, are derived from 
the same Sanscrit root, Ur, Aur, or Or, that signifies a forest, or 
sandy waste. The root can be traced through many languages, 
and still survives in the Greek opos (a mountain), the Norwegian 
Ore, the Icelandic Ure (the stony desert surrounding the base 
of the mountains) ; and is preserved without change in the old 
German Ur (a forest), and in Ur of the Chaldees. It appears 
also in the Ural Mountains, and also in the canton of Uri, the 
crest of which is an ox-head." It is worthy of mention that, in 
the last-mentioned place, when new magistrates are elected, two 
ancient and gigantic horns, remarkable for their double cur- 
vature, are carried in solemn procession. 

The presence of these horns affords a remarkable confirmation 
to a well-known passage in Julius Csesar's familiar " Com- 
mentaries." " The Uri are little inferior to elephants in size " 



128 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

(" magnitudine paullo infra eiephantos") ; " but are bulls in then 
nature, colour, and figure. Great is their strength, and great 
their swiftness : nor do they spare man or beast when they have 
caught sight of them. These, when trapped in pitfalls, the 
hunters diligently kill. The youths, exercising themselves by 
this sort of hunting, are hardened by the toil ; and those among 
them who have killed most, bringing with them the horns as 
testimonials, acquire great praise. But these Uri cannot be 
habituated to man or made tractable, not even when young. 
The great size of the horns, as well as the form and quality of 
them, differ much from the horns of our oxen. These, when 
carefully selected, they ring round the edge with silver, and use 
them for drinking cups at their ample feasts." 

The enormous size of the horns of an ox which was in all 
probability the Urus is mentioned by another writer, who also 
alludes to their use as drinking vessels. He states that some 
of these horns were so large as to hold about four gallons, and 
then proceeds to remark that their primitive use as drinking- 
cups was the reason why Bacchus was represented as wearing 
horns, and was sometimes worshipped under the form of a bull. 

It is worthy of notice, that the Sanscrit root Ur is retained 
in the name of the enormous Indian ox, the Gaur, a term which 
is formed from two words, namely, Gau, or Ghoo. a cow, and Ur, 
so that the name signifies Wild Cow. 

As to the size of the animal Urus, it is evident, by measure- 
ment of certain remains, that it must have well deserved Caesar's 
comparison with the elephant. A skull that is described by 
Cuvier gave the following measurements. Width of skull 
between the bases of the horn-cores (i.e. the bony projections on 
which the hollow horns are set) , rather more than twelve inches 
and an half. Circumference of the cores at the base, twelve 
inches and nine-tenths. Length of the cores, twenty-seven 
inches and nine- tenths; and distances between their tips, thirty- 
two inches and a half. 

According to the proportions of the domesticated ox, these 
measurements indicated that the animal was twelve feet in 
length, and six feet and a half in height. Now, if the reader 
will sketch out on a wall an ox of these dimensions, he will 
appreciate the enormous dimensions of the ancient Urus, far 
better than can be done by merely reading figures in a book. 



THE REEM, OH "UNICORN" OF SCRIPTURE. 129 

But this animal, gigantic as it was, is not the largest specimen 
that has been discovered. A portion of an Urus skull was 
discovered in the Avon, at Melksham, near Bath, the horn-core? 
of which, as described by Mr. H. Woods, were seventeen inches 
and a half in circumference, thirty-six inches and a half in 
length, and the distance from tip to tip was thirty-nine inches. 
Taking the same proportions as those of the ordinary ox, the 
author shows that the skull in question belonged to an animal 
very much larger than that which was described by Cuvier. In 
another specimen the distance between the tips of the horn-cores 
was forty-two inches, but their length only thirty-six. 

Of course, the size of the horn-cores gives little indication ol 
the dimensions of the horns themselves, and the principal point 
to be noticed is the shape of the core, whicli in some specimens, i 
though not in all, instead of presenting the regular double 
curvature with whicli we are so familiar in our domestic oxen, 
first curves outwards, then bends backwards or a little down- 
wards and forwards. This peculiarity in the shape of the horns 
is specially noted by Caesar, and we may therefore receive with 
more security his account of their enormous size. 

A curious rabbinical legend of the Reem is given in Lewy- 
sohn's " Zoologie des Talmuds." When the ark was complete, 
and all the beasts were commanded to enter, the Reem was 
unable to do so, because it was too large to pass through the 
door. Noah and his sons therefore were obliged to tie the 
animal by a rope to the ark, and to tow it behind ; and, in order 
to prevent it from being strangled, they tied the rope, not round 
its neck, but to its horn. 

The same writer very justly remarks that the Scriptural and 
Tahuudical accounts of the Reem have one decided distinction. 
The Scripture speaks chiefly of its fierceness, its untameable ; 
nature, its strength, and its swiftness, as its principal charac- 
teristics, while the Talmud speaks almost exclusively of its size. 
It was evidently the largest animal of which the writers had ever 
heard, and, according to Oriental wont, they exaggerated it pre- 
posterously. Whenever the Talmudical writers treat of animals 
with which they are personally acquainted, they are simple, 
straightforward, and accurate. But, as soon as they come tc 
animals unknown to them except by hearsay, they go off into 
the wildest extravagances, such, for example, as asserting that 
10 



130 BIBL£ ANIMALS. 

the leopard is a hybrid between the wild boar and the lioness 
The exaggerated statements concerning the Eeem show therefore 
that the animal must have been extinct long before the time ol 
the writers. 

The question now arises, What is the distinction between the 
ancient Urus and our modern cattle ? The answer is simple 
enough. The difference in the shape of the horn-cores is, as has 
been shown, not characteristic of the animal in general, but only 
of certain individuals ; while other variations in the shape and 
length of certain bones are of too little consequence to be 
accepted as bases whereon to found a new genus or even species, 
and we may therefore assume that the Urus of Caesar, the Eeem 
of Scripture, was nothing more than a very large variety of the 
ox, modified of course in aspect and habits by the locality in 
which it lived. This assumption is strengthened by the fact 
that Mr. Dawkins, in the treatise to which reference has already 
been made, has "traced the gigantic Urus from the earliest 
Pleistocene times through the pre-historic period at least as far 
as the twelfth century after Christ." 

The reader may remember that in Caesar's brief but graphic 
account of the Urus, he mentions that it was hunted by those 
who wished to distinguish themselves. Now, on many of the 
sculptures of Nineveh, there are delineations of bull hunts, 
which show, as Mr. Layard justly observes, that the wild bull 
appears to have been considered scarcely less formidable and 
noble game than the lion. The king himself is shown as 
attacking it, while the warriors partake of the sport either 
mounted or on foot. 

The exact variety of the wild bull which is being chased is 
not very recognisable. It certainly is not the ordinary domestic 
animal, the shape approaching somewhat to that of the antelope. 
The body is covered with marks which are evidently intended tc 
represent hair, though it does not follow that the hair need be 
thick and shaggy like that of the bison tribe. 



THE BISON. 131 



THE BISON. 

The Bison tribe and its distinguishing marks — Its former existence in Palestine — 
Its general habits — Origin of its name — Its musky odour - Size and speed ol 
the Bison — Its dangerous character when brought to bay — Its defence against 
the wolf — Its untameable disposition. 

A few words are now needful respecting the second animal 
which has been mentioned in connexion with the Reem ; namely, 
the Bison, or Bonassus. The Bisons are distinguishable from 
ordinary cattle by the thick and heavy mane which covers the 
neck and shoulders, and which is more conspicuous in the male 
than in the female. The general coating of the body is also 
rather different, being thick and woolly instead of lying closely 
to the skin like that of the othei oxen. The Bison certainly 
inhabited Palestine, as its bones have been found in that 
country. It has, however, been extinct in the Holy Land for 
many years, and, not being an animal that is capable of with- 
standing the encroachments of man, it has gradually died out 
from the greater part of Europe and Asia, and is now to be 
found only in a very limited locality, chiefly in a Lithuanian 
forest, where it is strictly preserved, and in some parts of the 
Caucasus. There it still preserves the habits which made its 
ancient and gigantic relative so dangerous an animal. Unlike 
the buffalo, which loves the low-lying and marshy lands, the 
Bison prefers the high wooded localities, where it lives in small 
troops. 

Its name of Bison is a modification of the word Bisam, or 
musk, which was given to it on account of the strong musky 
odour of its flesh, which is especially powerful about the head 
and neck. This odour is not so unpleasant as might be sup- 
posed, and those who have had personal experience of the 
animal say that it bears some resemblance to the perfume of 
violets. It is developed most strongly in the adult bulls, the 



132 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



cows and young male calves only possessing it in a slight 
degree. 

It is a tolerably large animal, being about six feet high at the 
shoulder — a stature nearly equivalent to that of the ordinary 
Asiatic elephant ; and, in spite of its great bulk, is a fleet and 
active animal, as indeed is generally the case with those oxen 




BISON Kl l/LING WOLF. 

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee? " — Job xxxix. 9. 



which inhabit elevated localities. Still, though it can run with 
considerable speed, it is not able to keep up the pace for any 
great distance, and at the end of a mile or two can be brought 
to bay. 

Like most animals, however large and powerful they may be, 
it fears the presence of man, and, if it sees or scents a human 
being, will try to slip quietly away ; but when it is baffled in 
this attempt, and forced to fight, it becomes a fierce and dan- 
gerous antagonist, charging with wonderful quickness, and using 



THE GAZELLE, OK ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 133 

its short and powerful horns with great effect, A wounded 
Bison, when fairly brought to bay, is perhaps as awkward an 
opponent as can be found, and to kill it without the aid of fire- 
arms is no easy matter. 

Although the countries in which it lives are infested with 
wolves, it seems to have no fear of them when in health ; and, 
even when pressed by their winter's hunger, the wolves do not 
venture to attack even a single Bison, much less a herd of them. 
Like other wild cattle, it likes to dabble in muddy pools, and is 
fond of harbouring in thickets near such localities; and those 
who have to travel through the forest keep clear of such spots, 
unless they desire to drive out the animal for the purpose of 
killing it. 

Like the extinct Aurochs, the Bison has never been domesti- 
cated, and, although the calves have been captured while very 
young, and attempts have been made to train them to harness, 
their innate wildness of disposition has always baffled such 
efforts. 



THE GAZELLE, OR ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Gazelle identified with the Tsebi, i.e. the Roe or Roebuck of Scripture — Various 
passages relating to the Tsebi— Its swiftness, its capabilities as a beast of 
chase, its beauty, and the quality of its flesh — The Tsebiyah rendered in Greek 
as Tabitha, and translated as Dorcas, or Gazelle — Different varieties of the 
Gazelle — How the Gazelle defends itself against wild beasts — Chase of the 
Gazelle — The net, the battue, and the pitfall— Coursing the Gazelle with grey- 
hounds and falcons— Mr. Chasseaud's account of a hunting party — Gentleness 
of the Gazelle. 

We now leave the Ox tribe, and come to the Antelopes, several 
species of which are mentioned in the Scriptures. Four kinds 
of antelope are found in or near the Holy Land, and there is 
little doubt that all of them are mentioned in the sacred 
volume. 

The first that will be described is the well-known Gazelle, 
which is acknowledged to be the animal that is represented by 
the word Tsebi, or Tsebiyah. The Jewish Bible accepts the 



134 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

same rendering. This word occurs many times, sometimes as 
a metaphor, and sometimes representing some animal which 
was lawful food, and which therefore belonged to the true 
ruminants. Moreover, its flesh was not only legally capable of 
being eaten, but was held in such estimation that it was provided 
for the table of Solomon himself, together with other animals 
which will be described in their turn. 

We will first take the passages where the word is used meta- 
phorically, or as a poetical image. That it was exceedingly 
swift of foot is evident from several instances in which the 
animal is mentioned. For example, in 2 San:, ii. 18, we are told 
that Asahel, the brother of Joab, was " as light of foot as a wild 
roe," or, as the passage may also be translated, " one of the roes 
that is in the field." And in 1 Chron. xii. 8, we find the follow- 
ing description of eleven warriors who attached themselves to 
David: — "Of the Gadites there separated themselves unto 
David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men 
of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, 
whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as 
the roes upon the mountains." 

That it was a beast of chase is as plainly to be gathered from 
the sacred writings. See, for example, Prov. vi. 4, 5 : " Give 
not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver 
thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird 
from the hand of the fowler." 

The same imagery is employed by the prophet Isaiah, xiii. 
13, 14 :— 

"Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall 
remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and 
in the day of His fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased 
roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up : they shall every 
man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own 
land." 

Having now learned that the Tsebi was very fleet of foot and 
a beast of chase, we come to another series of passages, which 
show that it was an animal of acknowledged beauty. In that 
most remarkable poem, the Song of Solomon, or the "Song 
of Songs," as it is more rightly named, there are repeated allu- 
sions to the Tsebi. In some cases the name of the Eoe is used 
as a sort of adjuration — ' I charge thee by the roes;" and in 



THE GAZELLE, OR ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 135 

otheis the lover, whether man or woman, is compared to the 
Roe. There is one consecutive series of passages in which the 
word is repeatedly used. See Cant. ii. 7-9 : " I charge you, ye 
daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the 
field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. The 
voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh leaping upon the moun- 
tains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or 
a young hart." And in the last verse of the poem the same 
image is repeated— " Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like 
to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices." 

Allusion is made to the beauty of the Roe, or Gazelle, in a 
well-known name, Tabitha, which is, in fact, a slight corruption 
of the Hebrew Tsebiyah, and is translated into Greek as Dorcas, 
or Gazelle. " Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named 
Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas (i.e. the Gazelle). 
This woman was full of good works and alms deeds which 
she did." 

As to the flesh of the Gazelle, or Roe, it is mentioned in 
Deut. xii. 15, xiv. 5, as one of the animals that affords lawful 
food; and the same permission is reiterated in xv. 22, with 
the proviso that the blood shall be poured out on the earth like 
water. 

Having now glanced at the various passages of Scripture 
wherein the Gazelle is mentioned, we will proceed to the animal 
itself, its appearance, locality, and general habits, in order to see 
how they agree with the Scriptural allusions to the Tsebi. 

As to its flesh, it is even now considered a great dainty, 
although it is not at all agreeable to European taste, being hard, 
dry, and without flavour. Still, as has been well remarked, 
tastes differ as well as localities, and an article of food which is 
a costly luxury in one land is utterly disdained in another, and 
will hardly be eaten except by one who is absolutely dying of 
starvation. 

The Gazelle is very common in Palestine in the present day, 
and, in the ancient times, must have been even more plentiful. 
There are several varieties of it, which were once thought to be 
distinct species, but are now acknowledged to be mere varieties, 
all of which are referable to the single species Gazella Dorcas. 
There is, for example, the Corinna. or Corine Antelope, which is 
a rather boldly-spotted female ; the Kevella Antelope, in which 



136 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



the horns are slightly flattened; the small variety called the 
Ariel, or Cora ; the grey Kevel. which is a rather large variety ; 
and the Long-horned Gazelle, which owes its name to a rather 
large development of the horns. 

Whatever variety may inhabit any given spot, they all have 
the same habits. They are gregarious animals, associating 
together in herds often of considerable size, and deriving from 




THE GAZELLE, (Gazella Dorcas) OR ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 

Beheld, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe 
or a young hart."— Cant. ii. 8, 9. 



their numbers an element of strength which would otherwise be 
wanting. Against mankind, numbers are of no avail ; but when 
the agile though feeble Gazelle has to defend itself against the 
predatory animals of its own land, it can only defend itself 
by the concerted action of the whole herd. Should, for example, 
the wolves prowl round a herd of Gazelles, after their treacherous 



THE GAZELLE, OR ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 137 

wont, the Gazelles instantly assume a posture of self-defence 
They form themselves into a compact phalanx, all the males 
coming to the front, and the strongest and boldest taking on 
themselves the honourable duty of facing the foe. The doe.*? 
and the young are kept within their ranks, and so formidable is 
the array of sharp, menacing horns, that beasts as voracious as 
the wolf, and far more powerful, have been known to retire 
without attempting to charge. 

As a rule, however, the Gazelle does not desire to resist, and 
prefers its legs to its horns as a mode of insuring safety. So 
fleet is the animal, that it seems to fly over the ground as if 
propelled by volition alone, and its light, agile frame is so en- 
during, that a fair chase has hardly any prospect of success. 
Hunters, therefore, prefer a trap of some kind, if they chase 
the animal merely for food or for the sake of its skin, and con- 
trive to kill considerable numbers at once. Sometimes they 
dig pitfalls, and drive the Gazelles into them by beating a large 
tract of country, and gradually narrowing the circle. Sometimes 
they use nets, such as have already been described, and some- 
times they line the sides of a ravine with archers and spearmen, 
and drive the herd of Gazelles through the treacherous defile. 

These modes of slaughter are, however, condemned by the 
true hunter, who looks upon those who use them much in the 
same light as an English sportsman looks on a man who shoots 
foxes. The greyhound and the falcon are both employed in the 
legitimate capture of the Gazelle, and in some cases both are 
trained to work together. Hunting the Gazelle with the grey- 
hound very much resembles coursing in our own country, and 
chasing it with the hawk is exactly like the system of falconry 
that was once so popular an English sport, and which even now 
shows signs of revival. 

It is, however, when the dog and the bird are trained to work 
together that the spectacle becomes really novel and interesting 
to an English spectator. 

As soon as the Gazelles are fairly in view, the hunter unhoods 
his hawk, and holds it up so that it may see the animals. The 
bird fixes its eye on one Gazelle, and by that glance the animal's 
doom is settled. The falcon darts after the Gazelles, followed by 
the dog, who keeps his eye on the hawk, and holds himself in 
readiness to attack the animal that his feathered ally may select. 



138 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Suddenly the falcon, which has been for some few seconds 
hovering over the herd of Gazelles, makes a stoop upon the 
selected victim, fastening its talons in its forehead, and, as it 
tries to shake off its strange foe, flaps its wings into the Gazelle's 
eyes so as to blind it. Consequently, the rapid course of the 
antelope is arrested, so that the dog is ahle to come up and 
secure the animal while it is struggling to escape from its 
feathered enemy. Sometimes, though rarely, a young and in- 
experienced hawk swoops down with such reckless force that it 
misses the forehead of the Gazelle, and impales itself upon the 
sharp horns, just as in England the falcon is apt to be spitted 
on the bill of the heron. 

The most sportsmanlike mode of hunting the Gazelle is to use 
the falcon alone ; but for this sport a bird must possess excep- 
tional strength, swiftness, and intelligence. A very spirited 
account of such a chase is given by Mr. G. W. Chasseaud, in his 
" Druses of the Lebanon :" — 

"Whilst reposing here, our old friend with the falcon informs 
us that at a short distance from this spot is a khan called Nebbi 
Youni, from a supposition that the prophet Jonah was here 
landed by the whale ; but the old man is very indignant when 
we identify the place with a fable, and declare to him that 
similar sights are to be seen at Gaza and Scanderoon. But his 
good humour is speedily recovered by reverting to the subject 
of the exploits and cleverness of his falcon. This reminds him 
that we have not much time to waste in idle talk, as the greater 
heats will drive the gazelles from the plains to the mountain 
retreats, and lose us the opportunity of enjoying the most 
sportsmanlike amusement in Syria. Accordingly, bestriding our 
animals again, we ford the river at that point where a bridge 
once stood. 

" We have barely proceeded twenty minutes before the keen 
eye of the falconer has descried a herd of gazelles quietly grazing 
in the distance. Immediately he reins in his horse, and enjoining 
silence, instead of riding at them, as we might have felt inclined 
to do, he skirts along the banks of the river, so as to cut off, if 
possible, the retreat of these fleet animals where the banks are 
narrowest, though very deep, but which would be cleared at a 
single leap by the gazelles. Having successfully accomplished 
this manoeuvre, he again removes the hood from the hawk, and 



THE GAZELLE, OR ROE OF SCRIPTURE. 139 

indicates to us that precaution is no longer necessary. Accord- 
ingly, first adding a few slugs to the charges in our barrels, we 
balance our guns in an easy posture, and, giving the horses 
their reins, set off at full gallop, and with a loud hurrah, right 
towards the already startled gazelles. 

" The timid animals, at first paralysed by our appearance, 
stand and gaze for a second terror-stricken at our approach ; but 
their pause is only momentary ; they perceive in an instant that 
the retreat to their favourite haunts has been secured, and so 
they dash wildly forward with all the fleetness of despair, 
coursing over the plain with no fixed refuge in view, and nothing 
but their fleetness to aid in their delivery. A stern chase is a 
long chase, and so, doubtless, on the present occasion it would 
prove with ourselves, for there is many and many a mile of 
level country before us, and our horses, though swift of foot, 
stand no chance in this respect with the gazelles. 

" Now, however, the old man has watched for a good oppor- 
tunity to display the prowess and skill of his falcon : he has 
followed us only at a hand-gallop ; but the hawk, long inured to 
such pastime, stretches forth its neck eagerly in the direction of 
the flying prey, and being loosened from its pinions, sweeps up 
into the air like a shot, and passes overhead with incredible 
velocity. Five minutes more, and the bird has outstripped even 
the speed of the light-footed gazelle ; we see him through the 
dust and haze that our own speed throws around us, hovering 
but an instant over the terrified herd ; he has singled out his 
prey, and, diving with unerring aim, fixes his iron talons into 
the head of the terrified animal. 

"This is the signal for the others to break up their order))- 
retreat, and to speed over the plain in every direction. Some, 
despite the danger that hovers on their track, make straight for 
their old and familiar haunts, and passing within twenty yards 
of where we ride, afford us an opportunity of displaying our 
skill as amateur huntsmen on horseback ; nor does it require 
but little nerve and dexterity to fix our aim whilst our horses 
are tearing over the ground. However, the moment presents 
itself, the loud report of barrel after barrel startles the unac- 
customed inmates of that unfrequented waste ; one gazelle leaps 
twice its own height into the air, and then rolls over, shot 
through the heart ; another bounds on yet a dozen paces, but, 



140 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

wounded mortally, staggering, halts, and then falls to the 
ground. 

" This is no time for us to pull in and see what is the amount 
of damage done, for the falcon, heedless of all surrounding 
incidents, clings firmly to the head of its terrified victim, flap- 
ping its strong wings awhile before the poor brute's terrified 
eyes, half blinding it and rendering its head dizzy ; till, after 
tearing round and round with incredible speed, the poor creature 
stops, panting for breath, and, overcome with excessive terror, 
drops down fainting upon the earth. Now the air resounds 
with the acclamations and hootings of the ruthless victors. 

" The old man is wild in his transports of delight. More 
certain of the prowess of his bird than ourselves, he has stopped 
awhile to gather together the fruits of our booty, and, with these 
suspended to his saddle bow, he canters up leisurely, shouting 
lustily the while the praises of his infallible hawk ; then getting 
down, and hoodwinking the bird again, he first of all takes the 
precaution of fastening together the legs of the fallen gazelle, 
and then he humanely blows up into its nostrils. Gradually 
the natural brilliancy returns to the dimmed eyes of the gazelle, 
then it struggles valiantly, but vainly, to disentangle itself from 
its fetters. 

" Pitying its efforts, the falconer throws a handkerchief over 
its head, and, securing this prize, claims it as his own, declaring 
that he will bear it home to his house in the mountains, where, 
after a few weeks' kind treatment and care, it will become as 
domesticated and affectionate as a spaniel. Meanwhile, Abou 
Shein gathers together the fallen booty, and, tying them securely 
with cords, fastens them behind his own saddle, declaring, with 
a triumphant laugh, that we shall return that evening to the 
city of Beyrout with such game as few sportsmen can boast of 
having carried thither in one day." 

The gentle nature of the Gazelle is as proverbial as its grace 
and swiftness, and is well expressed in the large, soft, liquid eye, 
which has formed from time immemorial the stock comparison 
of Oriental poets when describing the eyes of beauty. 



THE PYGAKG. OK ADD AX. 141 



THE PYGARG, OR ADDAX. 

The Dishon or Dyshon — Signification of the word Pygarg — Certainty that the 
Dishon is an antelope, and that it must be one of a few species — Former and 
present range of the Addax — Description of the Addax — The Strepsiceros 
of Pliny. 

There is a species of animal mentioned once in the Scrip- 
tures under the name of Dishon which the Jewish Bible leaves 
untranslated, and merely gives as Dyshon, and which is rendered 
in the Septuagint by Pugargos, or Pygarg, as one version gives 
it. Now, the meaning of the word Pygarg is white-crouped, 
and for that reason the Pygarg of the Scriptures is usually held 
to be one of the white-crouped antelopes, of which several 
species are known. Perhaps it may be one of them — it may 
possibly be neither, and it may probably refer to all of them. 

But that an antelope of some kind is meant by the word 
Dishon is evident enough, and it is also evident that the Dishon 
must have been one of the antelopes which could be obtained 
by the Jews. Now as the species of antelope which could have 
furnished food for that nation are very few in number, it is clear 
that, even if we do not hit upon the exact species, we may be 
sure of selecting an animal that was closely allied to it. More- 
over, as the nomenclature is exceedingly loose, it is probable 
that more than one species might have been included in the 
word Dishon. 

Modern commentators have agreed that there is every pro- 
bability that the Dishon of the Pentateuch was the antelope 
known by the name of Addax. 

This handsome antelope is a native of Northern Africa. It 
has a very wide range, and, even at the present day, is found in 
the vicinity of Palestine, so that it evidently was one of the 
antelopes which could be killed by Jewish hunters. From its 



142 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



large size, and long twisted horns, it bears a strong resemblance 
to the Koodoo of Southern Africa. The horns, however, are not 
so long, nor so boldly twisted, the curve being comparatively 
slight, and not possessing the bold spiral shape which distin- 
guishes those of the koodoo. 




THE ADDAX, OR PYGARG OF SCRIPTURE. 



These are the beasts which ye shall eat : the ox, the sheep, . ... the pygarg, and the wild 
and the chamois." — Deut. xiv. 4, 5. 



The ordinary height of the Addax is three feet seven or eight 
inches, and the horns are almost exactly alike in the two sexes. 
Their length, from the head to the tips, is rather more than two 
feet. Its colour is mostly white, but a thick mane of dark black 
hair falls from the throat, a patch of similar hair grows on the 
forehead, and the back and shoulders are greyish brown. There 
is no mane on the back of the neck, as is the case with the 
koodoo. 

The Addax is a sand-loving animal, as is shown by the wide 
and spreading hoofs, which afford it a firm footing on the yielding 



THE FALLOW-DEER, OR BUBALE. 143 

soil. In all probability, this is one of the animals which would 
be taken, like the wild bull, in a net, being surrounded and 
driven into the toils by a number of hunters. It is not, how- 
ever, one of the gregarious species, and is not fouud in those 
vast herds in which some of the antelopes love to assemble. 

Some writers reject the Addax as the Dishon, and are inclined 
to consider that the real representative of the word is to be 
found in the Ariel or Isabella gazelles. Of these, however, we 
have already treated, and enough has been said about them to 
show that these gazelles are in all probability comprised under 
the name Tsebi. 

It has been suggested, in contradiction to the opinion that 
the Dishon is the Addax, that the word Strepsiceros, or Twisted 
Horn, is given to it by Pliny, who also mentions that one of the 
native names for the animal is Adas, or Akas, and that he dis- 
tinguishes it from the Pygarg. Still, the weight of evidence is 
so great in favour of the identity of the Dishon and the Pygarg, 
that we may accept the interpretation with safety. 



THE FALLOW-DEER, OR BUBALE. 

The word Jachmur evidently represents a species of antelope— Probability that the 
Jachmur is identical with the Bubale, or Bekk'r-el-Wash — Resemblance of the 
animal to the ox tribe — Its ox-like horns and mode of attack — Its capability 
of domestication — Former and present range of the Bubale — Its representation 
on the monuments of ancient Egypt — Delicacy of its flesh — Size and general 
appearance of the animal. 

It has already been mentioned that in the Old Testament 
there occur the names of three or four animals, which clearly 
belong to one or other of three or four antelopes. Only 
one of these names now remains to be identified. This is 
the Jachmur, or Yachmur, a word which has been rendered in 
the Septuagint as Boubalos, and has been translated in out 
Authorized Version as Fallow Deer. 



144 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

We shall presently see that the Fallow Deer is to be identified 
with another animal, and that the word Jachmur must find 
another interpretation. If we follow the Septuagint, and call 
it the Bubale, we shall identify it with a well-known antelope, 
called by the Arabs the " Bekk'r-el-Wash," and known to 
zoologists as the Bubale (Acrvnotus bubalis). 

This fine antelope would scarcely be recognised as such by 
an unskilled observer, as in its general appearance it much more 
resembles the ox tribe than the antelope. Indeed, the Arabic 
title ; " Bekk'r-el-Wash," or Wild Cow, shows how close must be 
the resemblance to the oxen. The Arabs, and indeed all the 
Orientals in whose countries it lives, believe it not to be an ante- 
lope, but one of the oxen, and class it accordingly. 

How much the appearance of the Bubale justifies them in 
this opinion may be judged by reference to the figure on page 
145. The horns are thick, short, and heavy, and are first 
inclined forwards, and then rather suddenly bent backwards. 
This formation of the horns causes the Bubale to use his weapons 
after the manner of the bull, thereby increasing the resemblance 
between them. When it attacks, the Bubale lowers its head to 
the ground, and as soon as its antagonist is within reach, tosses 
its head violently upwards, or swings it with a sidelong upward 
blow. In either case, the sharp curved horns, impelled by the 
powerful neck of the animal, and assisted by the weight of the 
large head, become most formidable weapons. 

It is said that in some places, where the Bubales have learned 
to endure the presence of man, they will mix with his herds for 
the sake of feeding with them, and by degrees become so accus- 
tomed to the companionship of their domesticated friends, that 
they live with the herd as if they had belonged to it all their 
lives. This fact shows that the animal possesses a gentle dis- 
position, and it is said to be as easily tamed as the gazelle 
itself. 

Even at the present day the Bubale has a very wide range, 
and formerly had in all probability a much wider. It is indi- 
genous to Barbary, and has continued to spread itself over the 
greater part of Northern Africa, including the borders of the 
Sahara, the edges of the cultivated districts, and up the Nile 
for no small distance. In former days it was ev lently a tole- 
rably common animal of chase in Upper Egypt as there are 



THE FALLOW-DEER, OR BUBALE. 



145 



representations of it on the monuments, drawn with the quaint 
truthfulness which distinguishes the monumental sculpture of 
tli at period. 




BUBALE. OK FAI.U1W- DF.hR 



And Svlomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measuri 
of meal; ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep; heside harts 
a » d roebucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl." - 1 Kings i v. 22, 23. 



ft is probable that in and about Palestine it was equally 
common, so that there is good reason why it should be specially 
named as one of the animals that were lawful food. Not only was 
its flesh permitted to be eaten, but it was evidently considered 
as a great dainty, inasmuch as the Jachmur is mentioned in 
1 Kings iv. 23 as one of the animals which were brought to 
the royal table. See the passage quoted in full below the 
illustration. 

Even at the present day it is seen near the Red Sea ; and as 
within the memory of man it had a much larger range than can 
now be assigned to it, we may safely conjecture that it resided 
11 






146 BIBLE ANTMALS. 

in Palestine in sufficient numbers to afford a constant supply oi 
food to the royal residence. 

In size the Bubale is about equal to that of a heifer, and its 
general colour is reddish brown. The head is long and narrow, 
so that the heavy and deeply-ridged horns seem to stand out 
with peculiar boldness. The shoulders are rather high, the neck 
is very ox- like, and from the end of the tail hangs a tuft of long 
black hair. It is a gregarious animal, and is found in herds, 
though not of very great numbers. 

The Bubale is closely allied to the hartebeest, the well-known 
antelope of Southern Airica. 



THE SHEER 

Importance of Sheep in the Bible — The Sheep the chief wealth of the pastoral 
tribes — Tenure of land — Value of good pasture-land — Arab shepherds of the 
present day — Difference between the shepherds of Palestine and England — 
Wanderings of the flocks in search of food — Value of the wells — How the 
Sheep are watered — Duties of the shepherd — The shepherd a kind of irregular 
soldier — His use of the sling — Sheep following their shepherd — Calling the 
Sheep by name — The shepherd usually a part owner of the flocks — Structure 
of the sheepfolds — The rock caverns of Palestine -David's adventure with 
Saul — Penning of the Sheep by night — Use of the dogs — Sheep sometimes 
brought up by hand — How Sheep are fattened in the Lebanon district — The two 
breeds of Sheep in Palestine — The broad-tailed Sheep, and its peculiarities — 
Reference to this peculiarity in the Bible— The Talmudical writers, and their 
directions to sheep-owners. 

We now come to a subject which will necessarily occupy us 
for some little time. 

There is, perhaps, no animal which occupies a larger space in 
the Scriptures than the Sheep. Whether in religious, civil, or 
domestic life, we find that the Sheep is bound up with the 
Jewish nation in a way that would seem almost incomprehen- 
sible, did we not recall the light which the New Testament 
throws upon the Old, and the many allusions to the coming 
Messiah under the figure of the Lamb that taketh away the sins 
of the world. 



THE SHEEP. 147 

In treating of the Sheep, it will be perhaps advisable to 
begin the account by taking the animal simply as one of those 
creatures which have been domesticated from time immemorial, 
dwelling slightly on those points on which the sheep-owners of 
the old days differed from those of our own time. 

In the first place, the tenure of land was — and is still — 
entirely different from anything that can be found in our own 
country. With us, the comparatively large amount of popula- 
tion, placed on a comparatively small area of ground, prohibits 
the mode of sheep-keeping as practised in the East, where the 
pasture-lands are of vast extent, and common to all who choose 
to take their flocks to them. "We have at present the Downs 
and the Highlands as examples of such pasturage, but they are 
of small extent when compared with the vast plains which are 
used for this purpose in the East. 

The only claim to the land seems, in the old times of the 
Scriptures, to have lain in cultivation, or perhaps in the land 
immediately surrounding a well. But any one appears to have 
taken a piece of ground and cultivated it, or to have dug a well 
wherever he chose, and thereby to have acquired a sort of right 
to the soil. The same custom prevails at the present day among 
the cattle-breeding races of Southern Africa. The banks of 
rivers, on account of their superior fertility, were considered as 
the property of the chiefs who lived along their course, but the 
inland soil was free to all. 

Had it not been for this freedom of the land, it would have 
been impossible for the great men to have nourished the enor- 
mous flocks and herds of which their wealth consisted ; but, on 
account of the lack of ownership of the soil, a flock could be 
moved to one district after another as fast as it exhausted the 
herbage, the shepherds thus unconsciously imitating the habits 
of the gregarious animals, which are always on the move from 
one spot to another. 

Pasturage being thus free to all, Sheep had a higher compara- 
tive value than is the case with ourselves, who have to pay in 
some way for their keep. There is a proverb in the Talmud 
which may be curtly translated, " Land sell, sheep buy." 

The value of a good pasture-ground for the flocks is so great, 
that its possession is well worth a battle, the shepherds being 
saved from a most weary and harassing life, and being moreovei 



148 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

fewer in number than is needed when the pasturage is scanty 
Sir S. Baker, in his woik on Abyssinia, makes some very inter- 
esting remarks upon the Arab herdsmen, who are placed in 
conditions very similar to those of the Israelitish shepherds in a 
bad pasture-land. 

" The Arabs are creatures of necessity ; their nomadic life is 
compulsory, as the existence of their flocks and herds depends 
upon the pasturage. Thus, with the change of seasons they 
must change their localities according to the presence of fodder 
for their cattle. . . . The Arab cannot halt in one spot longer 
than the pasturage will support his flocks. The object of his 
life being fodder, he must wander in search of the ever-changing 
supply. His wants must be few, as the constant change of en- 
campment necessitates the transport of all his household goods ; 
thus he reduces to a minimum his domestic furniture and 
utensils. . . . 

:< This striking similarity to the descriptions of the Old Testa- 
ment is exceedingly interesting to a traveller when residing 
among these curious and original people. With the Bible in 
one's hand, and these unchanged tribes before the eyes, there is a 
thrilling illustration of the sacred record ; the past becomes the 
present, the veil of three thousand years is raised, and the living 
picture is a witness to the exactness of the historical descrip- 
tion. At the same time there is a light thrown upon many 
obscure passages in the Old Testament by the experience of the 
present customs and figures of speech of the Arabs, which are 
precisely those that were practised at the periods described 

" Should the present history of the country be written by an 
Arab scribe, the style of the description would be precisely 
that of the Old Testament. There is a fascination in the 
unchangeable features of the Nile regions. There are the vast 
pyramids that have defied time, the river upon which Moses was 
cradled in infancy, the same sandy desert through which he led 
his people, and the watering-places where their flocks were led 
to drink. The wild and wandering Arabs, who thousands of 
years ago dug out the wells in the wilderness, are represented by 
their descendants, unchanged, who now draw water from the 
deep wells of their forefathers, with the skins that have never 
altered their fashion. 

" The Arabs, gathering with their goats and sheep around the 



THE SHEEP. 149 

wells to-day, recall the recollection of that distant time when 
1 Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the 
people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the 
field, and lo ! there were three flocks of sheep lying by it,' &c. 
The picture of that scene would be an illustration of Arab daily 
life in the Nubian deserts, where the present is a mirror of the 
past." 

Owing to the great number of Sheep which they have to 
tend, and the peculiar state of the country, the life of the shep- 
herd in Palestine is even now very different from that of an 
English shepherd, and in the days of the early Scriptures the 
distinction was even more distinctly marked. 

Sheep had to be tended much more carefully than we gene- 
rally think. In the first place, a thoughtful shepherd had always 
one idea before his mind, — namely, the possibility of obtaining 
sufficient water for his flocks. Even pasturage is less important 
than water, and, however tempting a district might be, no shep- 
herd would venture to take his charge there if he were not sure 
of obtaining water. In a climate such as ours, this ever-pressing 
anxiety respecting water can scarcely be appreciated, for in hot 
climates not only is water scarce, but it is needed far more than 
in a temperate and moist climate. Thirst does its work with 
terrible quickness, and there are instances recorded where men 
have sat down and died of thirst in sight of the river which 
they had not strength to reach. 

In places therefore through which no stream runs, the wells 
are the great centres of pasturage, around which are to be seen 
vast flocks extending far in every direction. These wells are 
kept carefully closed by their owners, and are only opened for 
the use of those who are entitled to water their flocks at 
them. 

Noontide is the general time for watering the Sheep, and 
towards that hour all the flocks may be seen converging towards 
their respective wells, the shepherd at the head of each flock, and 
the Sheep following him. See how forcible becomes the imagery 
of David, the shepherd poet, " The Lord is my Shepherd ; I shall 
not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (or, in 
pastures of tender grass) : He leadeth me beside the still waters " 
(Ps. xxiii. 1, 2). Here we have two of the principal duties of 
the good shepherd brought prominently before us, — namely, the 



150 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

guiding of the Sheep to green pastures and leading them to fresh 
water. Very many references are made in the Scriptures to the 
pasturage of sheep, both in a technical and a metaphorical sense ; 
but as our space is limited, and these passages are very nume- 
rous, only one or two of each will be taken. 

In the story of Joseph, we find that when his father and 
brothers were suffering from the famine, they seem to have cared 
as much for their Sheep and cattle as for themselves, inasmuch as 
among a pastoral people the flocks and herds constitute the only 
wealth. So, when Joseph at last discovered himself, and his 
family were admitted to the favour of Pharaoh, the first request 
which they made was for their flocks. " Pharaoh said unto his 
brethren, What is your occupation ? And they said unto 
Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our 
fathers. 

" They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land 
are we come ; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks ; 
for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now therefore, we 
pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen." 

This one incident, so slightly remarked in the sacred history, 
gives a wonderfully clear notion of the sort of life led by Jacob 
and his sons. Forming, according to custom, a small tribe of 
their own, of which the father was the chief, they led a pastoral 
life, taking their continually increasing herds and flocks from 
place to place as they could find food for them. For example, at 
the memorable time when the story of Joseph begins, he was 
sent by his father to his brothers, who were feeding the flocks, 
and he wandered about for some time, not knowing where to 
find them. It may seem strange that he should be unable to 
discover such very conspicuous objects as large flocks of sheep 
and goats, but the fact is that they had been driven from one 
pasture-land to another, and had travelled in search of food all 
the way from Shechem to Dothan. 

In 1 Chron. iv. 39, 40, we read of the still pastoral Israelites 
that " they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east 
side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. And they 
found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, 
and peaceable." 

How it came to be quiet and peaceable is told in the context. 
It was peaceable simply because the Israelites were attracted by 



THE SHEEP. 151 

the good pasturage, attacked the original inhabitants, and exter- 
minated them so effectually that none were left to offer resistance 
to the usurpers. And we find from this passage that the value 
of good pasture-land where the Sheep could feed continually 
without being forced to wander from one spot to another was 
so considerable, that the owners of the flocks engaged in war, 
and exposed their own lives, in order to obtain so valuable a 
possession. 

As to the figurative passages, they are far too numerous to be 
quoted, and are found throughout the whole of the Old and New 
Testaments. For example, see Psalm lxxix. 13, " So we Thy 
people and the sheep of Thy pasture will give Thee thanks for 
ever." And again, " I will feed them upon the mountains of 
Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the coun- 
try. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high 
mountains of Israel shall their fold be : there shall they lie in a 
good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the moun- 
tains of Israel" ^Ezek. xxxiv. 13, 14). 

We will now look at one or two of the passages that mention 
watering the Sheep — a duty so imperative on an Oriental shep- 
herd, and so needless to our own. 

In the first place we find that most graphic narrative which 
occurs in Gen xxix. to which a passing reference has already 
been made. When Jacob was on his way from his parents to 
the home of Laban in Padan-aram, he came upon the very w r ell 
which belonged to his uncle, and there saw three flocks of Sheep 
lying around the well, waiting until the proper hour arrived. 
According to custom, a large stone was laid over the well, so as 
to perform the double office of keeping out the sand and dust, 
and of guarding the precious water against those who had no 
right to it. And when he saw his cousin Eachel arrive with 
the flock of which she had the management, he, according to the 
courtesy of the country and the time, rolled aw T ay the ponderous 
barrier, and poured out water into the troughs for the Sheep 
which Rachel tended. 

About two hundred years afterwards, we find Moses per- 
forming a similar act. When he was obliged to escape into 
Midian on account of his fatal quarrel with a tyrannical 
Egyptian, he sat down by a well, waiting for the time when the 
stone might be rolled away, and the water be distributed. Now 



152 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

it happened that this well belonged to Jethro, the chief priest of 
the country, whose wealth consisted principally of Sheep. He 
entrusted his flock to the care of his seven daughters, who led 
their Sheep to the well and drew water as usual into the troughs. 
Presuming on their weakness, other shepherds came and tried 
to drive them away, but were opposed by Moses, who drove 
them away, and with his own hands watered the flock. 

Now in both these examples we find that the men who 
performed the courteous office of drawing the water and pouring 
it into the sheep-troughs married afterwards the girl to whose 
charge the flocks had been committed. This brings us to the 
Oriental custom which has been preserved to the present day. 

The wells at which the cattle are watered at noon-day are the 
meeting-places of the tribe, and it is chiefly at the well that the 
young men and women meet each other. As each successive 
flock arrives at the well, the number of the people increases, 
and while the sheep and goats lie patiently round the water, 
waiting for the time when the last flock shall arrive, and the 
stone be rolled off the mouth of the well, the gossip of the tribe 
is discussed, and the young people have ample opportunity for 
the pleasing business of courtship. 

As to the passages in which the wells, rivers, brooks, water- 
springs, are spoken of in a metaphorical sense, they are too 
numerous to be quoted. 

And here I may observe, that in reality the whole of Scripture 
has its symbolical as well as its outward signification ; and that, 
until we have learned to read the Bible strictly according to the 
spirit, we cannot understand one-thousandth part of the mys- 
teries which it conceals behind its veil of language ; nor can we 
appreciate one-thuusandth part of the treasures of wisdom which 
lie hidden in its pages from those who have eyes and cannot 
see, ears and cannot hear. 

Another duty of the shepherd of ancient Palestine was to 
guard his flock from depredators, whether man or beast. 
Therefore the shepherd was forced to carry arms ; to act as a 
sentry during the night ; and, in fact, to be a sort of irregular 
soldier. A fully-armed shepherd had with him his bow, his 
spear, and his sword, and not even a shepherd lad was withoui 
his sling and the £rent quarter- staff which is even now universally 
carried by the tribes along the Nile — a staff as thick as a man's 



THE SHEEP. 153 

wrist, and six or seven feet in length. He was skilled in the 
use of all these weapons, especially in that of the sling. 

In England, in these days, the sling is only considered as 
a mere toy, whereas, before the introduction of fire-arms, it was 
one of the most formidable weapons that could be wielded by 
light troops. Bound and smooth stones weighing three or four 
ounces were the usual projectiles, and, by dint of constant 
practice from childhood, the slingers could aim with a marvellous 
precision. Of this fact we have a notable instance in David, 
who knew that the sling and the five stones in the hand of an 
active youth unencumbered by armour, and wearing merely the 
shepherd's simple tunic, were more than a match for all the 
ponderous weapons of the gigantic Philistine. 

It has sometimes been the fashion to attribute the successful 
aim of David to a special miracle, whereas those who are 
acquainted with ancient weapons know well that no miracle was 
wrought, because none was needed ; a good slinger at that time 
being as sure of his aim as a good rifleman of our days. 

The sling was in constant requisition, being used both in 
directing the Sheep and in repelling enemies : a stone skilfully 
thrown in front of a straying Sheep being a well-understood 
signal that the animal had better retrace its steps if it did not 
\\ ant to feel the next stone on its back. 

Passing his whole life with his flock, the shepherd was iden- 
tified with his Sheep far more than is the case in this country. 
He knew all his Sheep by sight, he called them all by their 
names, and they all knew him and recognised his voice. He 
did not drive them., but he led them, walking in their front, 
and they following him. Sometimes he would play with them, 
pretending to run away while they pursued him, exactly as an 
infant-school teacher plays with the children. 

Consequently, they looked upon him as their protector as 
well as their feeder, and were sure to follow wherever he led 
them. 

We must all remember how David, who had passed all his 
early years as a shepherd, speaks of God as the Shepherd of 
Israel, and the people as -Sheep ; never mentioning the Sheep as 
being driven, but always as being led. " Thou leddest Thy 
people like a flock, by the hands of Moses and Aaron " (Ps. 
Ixxvii. 20) ; * The Lord is my Shepherd. ... He leadeth me 



J 54 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



beside the still waters" (Ps. xxiii. 1, 2); "Lead me in a plain 
path, because of mine enemies" (Ps. xxvii. 11) ; together with 
many other passages too numerous to be quoted. 

Our Lord Himself makes a familiar use of the same image : 
" He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out 




SHEEP FOLLOWING THEIR SHEPHERD. 

"He oallcth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out." — John x. 



And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, 
and the sheep follow him : for they know his voice. And a 
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him : for they 
know not the voice of strangers" (John x. 3 — 5). And again at 
verse 26 : "Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I 
said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, arid I know them, and 
they follow me." 



THE SHEEP. 155 

Although the shepherds of our own country know their Sheep 
by sight, and say that there is as much difference in the faces 
of .Sheep as of men, they have not, as a rule, attained the art of 
teaching their Sheep to recognise their names. This custom, 
however, is still retained, as may be seen from a well-known 
passage in Hartley's " Researches in Greece and the Levant : " — 

" Having had my attention directed last night to the words in 
John x. 3, I asked my man if it were usual in Greece to give 
names to the sheep. He informed me that it was, and that 
the sheep obeyed the shepherd when he called them by their 
names. This morning I had an opportunity of verifying the 
truth of this remark. Passing by a flock of sheep, 1 asked the 
shepherd the same question which I had put to the servant, and 
he gave me the same answer. T then bade him call one of his 
sheep. He did so, and it instantly left its pasturage and its 
companions, and ran up to the hands of the shepherd, with 
signs of pleasure, and with a prompt obedience which I had uever 
before observed in any other animal. 

" It is also true that in this country, ' a stranger will they not 
follow, but will flee from him.' The shepherd told me that 
many of his sheep were still wild, that they had not learned 
their names, but that by teaching them they would all learn 
them/ 1 

Generally, the shepherd was either the proprietor of the flock, 
or had at all events a share in it, of which latter arrangement 
we find a well-known example in the bargain which Jacob made 
with Laban, all the white Sheep belonging to his father-in-law, 
and all the dark and spotted Sheep being his wages as shepherd. 
Such a man was far more likely to take care of the Sheep than 
if he were merely a paid labourer ; especially in a country where 
the life of a shepherd was a life of actual danger, and he might at 
any time be obliged to fight against armed robbers, or to oppose 
the wolf, the lion, or the bear. The combat of the shepherd 
David with the last-mentioned animals has already . been 
noticed. 

In allusion to the continual risks run by the Oriental shepherd. 
our Lord makes use of the following well-known words : — " The 
thief corneth not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy : I 
am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. 
I am the Good Shepherd : the good snepherd giveth his life foi 



156 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the sheep. But he that is an hireling, .... whose own the 
sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, 
and fleeth : and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the 
sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is an hireling, and careth 
not for the she( p." 

Owing to the continual moving of the Sheep, the shepherd 
had very hard work during the lambing time, and was obliged 
to carry in his arms the young lambs which were too feeble to 
accompany their parents, and to keep close to him those Sheep 
who were expected soon to become mothers. At that time of 
year the shepherd might constantly be seen at the head of his 
flock, carrying one or two lambs in his arms, accompanied by 
their mothers. 

In allusion to this fact Isaiah writes : " His reward is with 
Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like 
a shepherd ; He shall gather the lambs with His arms and carry 
them in His bosom, and shall gently lead them that are with 
young" (or, "that give suck," according to the marginal reading). 
Here we have presented at once before us the good shepherd 
who is no hireling, but owns the Sheep ; and who therefore has 
" his reward with him, and his work before him ; " who bears 
the tender lambs in his arms, or lays them in the folds of his 
mantle, and so carries them in his bosom, and leads by his side 
their yet feeble mothers. 

Frequent mention is made of the folds in which the Sheep are 
penned ; and as these folds differed — and still differ — materially 
from those of our own land, we shall miss the force of several 
passages of Scripture if we do not understand their form, and the 
materials of which they were built. Our folds consist merely of 
hurdles, moveable at pleasure, and so low that a man can easily 
jump over them, and so fragile that he can easily pull them 
down Moreover, the Sheep are frequently enclosed within the 
fold while they are at pasture. 

If. any one should entertain such an idea of the Oriental fold, 
he would not see the force of the well-known passage in which 
our Lord compares the Church to a sheepfold, and Himself to 
the door. " He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, 
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a 
robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of 
the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his 







THE SHEET. 
"He maketh me t.. l:e down in geevn pasture "—Psalm xxiii. 2. 



THE SHEEP. 157 

voice. . . . All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers : 
but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door : by me if any 
man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and 
find pasture." 

Had the fold here mentioned been a simple enclosure of 
hurdles, such an image could not have been used. It is evident 
that the fold to which allusion was made, and which was pro- 
bably in sight at the time when Jesus was disputing with 
the Pharisees, was a structure of some pretensions ; that it 
had walls which a thief could only enter by climbing over 
them— not by " breaking through " them, as in the case of a 
mud-walled private house ; and that it had a gate, which was 
guarded by a watchman. 

In fact, the fold was a solid and enduring building, made of 
stone. Thus in Numbers xxxii. it is related that the tribes of 
Reuben and Gad, who had great quantities of Sheep and other 
cattle, asked for the eastward side of Jordan as a pasture- 
ground, promising to go and fight for the people, but previously 
to build fortified cities for their families, and folds for their 
cattle, the folds being evidently, like the cities, buildings of an 
en during nature. 

If the reader will refer to the upper left-hand corner of 
the large illustration, he will see in the distance the fold into 
which the sheep are gathered at nightfall, and will perceive 
that it is a strong stone building, with walls of a considerable 
height. In some places the folds are simply rock caverns, 
partly natural and partly artificial, often enlarged by a stone 
wall built outside it. It was the absence of these rock caverns 
on the east side of Jordan that compelled the Reubenites 
and Gadites to build folds for themselves, whereas on the 
opposite side places of refuge were comparatively abundant. 

See, for example, the well-known history related in 1 Sam. 
xxiii. xxiv. David and his miscellaneous band of warriors, 
some six hundred in number, were driven out of the cities by 
the fear of Saul, and were obliged to pass their time in the 
wilderness, living in the " strong holds " (xxiii. 14, 19), which we 
find immediately afterwards to be rock caves (ver. 25). These 
caves were of large extent, being able to shelter these six 
hundred warriors, and, on one memorable occasion, to conceal 
them so completely as they stood along the sides, that Saul, who 



158 BIBLE ANIMALS 

had just come out of the open air, was not able to discern them 
in the dim light, and David even managed to approach him 
unseen, and cut off a portion of his outer robe. 

That this particular cave was a sheepfold we learn from 
xxiv. 2-4 : " Then Saul took three thousand chosen men 
out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the 
rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by 
the way." Into these strongholds the Sheep are driven towards 
nightfall, and, as the flocks converge towards their resting-place, 
the bleatings of the sheep are almost deafening. 

The shepherds as well as their flocks found shelter in these 
caves, making them their resting-places while they were living 
the strange, wild, pastoral life among the hills ; and at the 
present day many of the smaller caves and " holes of the rock " 
exhibit the vestiges of human habitation in the shape of straw, 
hay, and other dried herbage, which has been used for beds, just 
as we now find the rude couches of the coast-guard men in the 
cliff caves of our shores. 

The dogs which are attached to the sheepfolds were, as they 
are now, the faithful servants of man, although, as has already 
been related, they are not made the companions of man as is 
the case with ourselves. Lean, gaunt, hungry, and treated with 
but scant kindness, they are yet faithful guardians against ,the 
attack of enemies. They do not, as do our sheepdogs, assist in 
driving the flocks, because the Sheep are not driven, but led, but 
they are invaluable as nocturnal sentries. Crouching together 
outside the fold, in little knots of six or seven together, they 
detect the approach of wild animals, and at the first sign of the 
wolf or the jackal they bark out a defiance, and scare away the 
invaders. It is strange that the old superstitious idea of their 
uncleanness should have held its ground through so many tens 
of centuries ; but, down to the present day, the shepherd of 
Palestine, though making use of the dog as a guardian of his 
flock, treats the animal with utter contempt, not to say cruelty, 
beating and kicking the faithful creature on the least provoca- 
tion, and scarcely giving it sufficient food to keep it alive. 

Sometimes the Sheep are brought up by hand at home. 
" House-lamb," as we call it, is even now common, and the 
practice of house-feeding peculiar in the old Scriptural times. 

We have an allusion to this custom in the well-known parable 



THE SHEEP. 159 

oi the prophet Nathan: "The poor man had nothing, save one 
little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up : and it 
grew up together with him, and with his children ; it did eat of 
his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, 
and was unto him as a daughter" (2 Sam. xii. 3). A further, 
though less distinct, allusion is made to this practice in Isaiah 
vii. 21 : " It shad come to pass in that day, that a man shall 
nourish a young cow, and two sheep." 

How the Sheep thus brought up by hand were fattened may 
be conjectured from the following passage in Mr. D. Urquh art's 
valuable work on the Lebanon : — 

" In the month of June, they buy from the shepherds, when 
pasturage has become scarce and sheep are cheap, two or three 
sheep ; these they feed by hand. After they have eaten up the 
old grass and the provender about the doors, they get vine 
leaves, and, after the silkworms have begun to spin, mulberry 
leaves. They purchase them on trial, and the test is appetite. 
If a sheep does not feed well, they return it after three days. 
To increase their appetite they wash them twice a day, morning 
and evening, a care they never bestow on their own bodies. 

" If the sheep's appetite does not come up to their standard, 
they use a little gentle violence, folding for them forced leaf-balls 
and introducing them into their mouths. The mulberry has the 
property of making them fat and tender. At the end of four 
months the sheep they had bought at eighty piastres will sell 
for one hundred and forty, or will realize one hundred and fifty. 

" The sheep is killed, skinned, and hung up. The fat is then 
removed ; the flesh is cut from the bones, and hung up in the 
sun. Meanwhile, the fat has been put in a cauldron on the fire, 
and as soon as it has come to boil, the meat is laid on. The 
pioportion of the fat to the lean is as four to ten, eight 'okes' 
fat and twenty lean. A little salt is added, it is simmered for 
an hour, and then placed in jars for the use of the family during 
the year. 

" The large joints are separated and used first, as not fit for 
keeping long. The fat, with a portion of the lean, chopped fine, 
is what serves for cooking the ' bourgoul,' and is called Dehen. 
The sheep are of the fat-tailed variety, and the tails are the 
great delicacy." 

This last sentence reminds U3 that there are two breeds of 



160 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Sheep in Palestine. One much resembles our ordinary English 
Sheep, while the other is a very different animal, being to the 
ordinary Sheep what the greyhound is to the rough terrier. It 
is much taller on its legs, larger-boned, and long-nosed. Only 
the rams have horns, and they are not twisted spirally like those 
of our own Sheep, but come backwards, and then curl round so 
that the point comes under the ear. The great peculiarity of 
this Sheep is the tail, which is simply prodigious in point of size, 
and is an enormous mass of fat. Indeed, the lon^-le^ed and 
otherwise lean animal seems to concentrate all its fat in the tail, 
which, as has been well observed, appears to abstract both flesh 
and fat from the rest of the body. So great is this strange 
development, that the tail alone will sometimes weigh one- fifth 
as much as the entire animal. A similar breed of Sheep is found 
in Southern Africa and other parts of the world. In some places, 
the tail grows to such an enormous size that, in order to keep 
so valuable a part of the animal from injury, it is fastened to 
a small board, supported by a couple of wheels, so that the Sheep 
literally wheels its own tail in a cart. It has been thought by 
some systematic naturalists that this variety is a distinct species, 
and the broad-tailed breeds of Sheep have, in consequence, been 
distinguished by several names. For example., the present 
variety is called Ovis laticaudatus by several authors, Ovis 
laticauda platyceros by another, and Ovis cauda obesa by another. 
The broad-tailed Sheep of Tartary is called Ovis steatopyga. 
Another author calls it Ovis macrocercus ; and the broad-tailed 
Sheep of Southern Africa is called Ovis Capensis. Yet they 
are in reality one and the same variety of the common domesti- 
cated Sheep, differing in some particulars according to the con- 
ditions in which they are placed, but having really no specific 
distinction. It is, by the way, from the wool of the unborn 
broad-tailed Sheep that the much-prized Astrachan fur is made. 

The various Scriptural writers seem never to have noticed 
the difference between the breeds of Sheep ; the names that are 
employed denoting the different ages and sexes of the Sheep, 
but having no reference to the breed. 

For example, the word " Taleh" signifies a very young sucking 
lamb, such as is mentioned in 1 Sam. vii. 9 : " And Samuel 
took a sucking lamb (Taleh), and offered it for a burnt offering 
whoilv unto the Lord." The same word is used in Isa. lxv. 25 : 



THE SHEEP. 161 

"The wolf and the lamb (taleh) shall feed together;" the 
force of this well-known passage being much increased by the 
correct rendering of the word " t&leh." The Jewish Bible renders 
lie word as " a lamb of milk." 

The word "kebes," or "keves," (the e being pronounced 
like the same letter in the word "seven") signifies a male lamb 
of a year or so old, the feminine being " kebesah." When the 
young lamb was weaned, and was sent to pasture, it was called 
by another name, i.e. " kar," this word being evidently derived 
from the Hebrew verb which signifies to skip. The adult ram 
is signified by the word " ayil," or " ail," and the ewe by 
" rakal." 

Frequent reference to the fat of the tail is made in the 
Authorized Version of the Scriptures, though in terms which 
would not be understood did we not know that the Sheep 
which is mentioned in those passages is the long-tailed 
Sheep of Syria. See, for example, the history narrated in 
Exo.d. xxix. 22, where special details are given as to the 
ceremony by which Aaron and his sons were consecrated 
to the priesthood. " Thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the 
rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above 
the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them." 
In the Jewish Bible the passage is given with much more 
precision, " Thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail" 
&c. The same rendering is used in Lev. iii. 9 : " And he 
shall offer of the sacrifice of the feast offering a fire offering 
unto the Eternal ; the fat thereof, and the whole fat tail shall he 
take off hard by the backbone ; and the fat that covereth the 
inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards." 

But though this particular breed is not very distinctly men- 
tioned in the Bible, the Talmudical writers have many allusions 
to it. In the Mischna these broad-tailed Sheep are not allowed 
to leave theii folds on the Sabbath-day, because by wheeling 
their little tail-waggons behind them they would break the 
Sabbath. The writers describe the tail very graphically, com- 
paring its shape to that of a saddle, and saying that it is fat, 
without bones, heavy and long, and looks as if the whole body 
,vere continued beyond the hind-legs, and thence hung down in 
place of a tail. 

The Kabbinical writers treat rather fully of the Sheep, and. 
12 



162 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

give some very amusing advice respecting their management. 
If the ewes cannot be fattened in the ordinary manner, that eud 
may be achieved by tying up the udder so that the milk cannot 
flow, and the elements which would have furnished milk are 
forced to produce fat. If the weather should be chilly at the 
shearing time, and there is danger of taking cold after the wool 
is removed, the shepherd should dip a sponge in oil and tie it 
on the forehead of the newly-shorn animal. Or, if he should 
not have a sponge by him, a woollen rag will do as well. The 
same potent remedy is also efficacious if the Sheep should be ill 
in lambing time. 

That the Sheep is liable to the attack of the gadfly, which 
deposits its eggs in the nostrils of the unfortunate animal, 
was as well known in the ancient as in modern times. It is 
scarcely necessary to mention that the insect in question is 
the JEstrus ovis. Instinctively aware of the presence of this 
insidious and dreaded enemy, which, though so apparently 
insignificant, is as formidable a foe as any of the beasts of 
prey, the Sheep display the greatest terror at the sharp, 
menacing sound produced by the gadfly's wings as the insect 
sweeps through the air towards its destination. They congre- 
gate together, placing their heads almost in contact with each 
other, snort and paw the ground in their terror, and use all means 
in their power to prevent the fly from accomplishing its purpose. 
When a gadfly succeeds in attaining its aim, it rapidly 
deposits an egg or two in the nostril, and then leaves them. 
The tiny eggs are soon hatched by the natural heat of the 
animal, and the young larvas crawl up the nostril towards the 
frontal sinus. There they remain until they are full-grown, when 
they crawl through the nostrils, fall on the ground, burrow 
therein, and in the earth undergo their changes into the pupal 
and perfect stages. 

It need hardly be said that an intelligent shepherd would 
devote himself to the task of killing every gadfly which he 
could find, and, as these insects are fond of basking on sunny 
rocks or tree-trunks, this is no very difficult matter. 

The Eabbinical writers, however, being totally ignorant of 
practical entomology, do not seem to have recognised the insect 
until it had reached its full larval growth. They say that the 
rams manage to shake the grubs out of their nostrils by butting 



THE SHEEP. 163 

at one another in mimic warfare, and that the ewes, which are 
hornless, and are therefore incapable of relieving themselves 
by such means, onght to be supplied with plants which will 
make them sneeze, so that they may shake out the grubs by 
the convulsive jerkings of the head caused by inhaling the 
irritating substance. 

The same writers also recommend that the rams should be 
furnished with strong leathern collars. 

When the flock is on the march, the rams always go in the 
van, and, being instinctively afraid of their ancient enemy the 
wolf, they continually raise their heads and look about them. 
This line of conduct irritates the wolves, who attack the fore- 
most rams and seize them by the throat. If, therefore, a piece 
of stout leather be fastened round the ram's neck, the wolf is 
baffled, and runs off in sullen despair. 

Generally, the oldest ram is distinguished by a bell, and, when 
the flock moves over the hilly slopes, the Sheep walk in file after 
the leader, making narrow paths, which are very distinct from a 
distance, but are scarcely perceptible w 7 hen the foot of the 
traveller is actually upon them. From this habit has arisen an 
ancient proverb, " As the sheep after the sheep, so the daughter 
after the mother," a saying which is another form of our own 
familiar proverb, " What is bred in the bone will not come out 
of the flesh." 

We now come to the Sheep considered with reference to its 
uses. First and foremost the Sheep was, and still is, one of the 
chief means of subsistence, being to the pastoral inhabitants of 
Palestine what the oxen are to the pastoral inhabitants of 
Southern Africa. 

To ordinary persons the flesh of the Sheep was a seldom- 
tasted luxury; great men might eat it habitually, "faring 
sumptuously every day," and we find that, among the glories of 
Solomon's reign, the sacred chronicler has thought it worth while 
to mention that part of the daily provision for his household 
included one hundred Sheep. No particular pains seem to have 
been taken about the cooking of the animal, which seems gene- 
rally to have been boiled. As, however, in such a climate the 
flesh could not be kept for the purpose of making it tender, as is 
the case in this part of the world, it w r as cooked as soon as the 



164 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

animal was killed, the fibres not having time to settle into the 
rigidity of death. 

Generally, when ordinary people had the opportunity of 
tasting the flesh of the Sheep, it was on the occasion of some 
rejoicing, — such, for example, as a marriage feast, or the advent of 
a guest, for whom a lamb or a kid was slain and cooked on the 
spot, a young male lamb being almost invariably chosen as less 
injurious than the ewe to the future prospects of the flock. 
Roasting over a fire was sometimes adopted, as was baking in an 
oven sunk in the ground, a remarkable instance of which we 
shall see when we come to the Jewish sacrifices. Boiling, 
however, was the principal mode ; so much so, indeed, that the 
Hebrew word which signifies boiling is used to signify any kind 
of cooking, even when the meat was roasted. 

The process of cooking and eating the Sheep was as follows. 

The animal having been killed according to the legal form, the 
skin was stripped off, and the body separated joint from joint, 
the right shoulder being first removed. This, it will be remem- 
bered, was the priest's portion ; see Lev. vii. 32 : " The right 
shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the 
sacrifices of your peace offerings." The whole of the flesh was 
then separated from the bones, and chopped small, and even the 
bones themselves broken up, so that the marrow might not 
be lost. 

A reference to this custom is found in Micah iii. 2, 3, " Who 
pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their 
bones ; who also eat the flesh of my people .... and they break 
their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh 
within the caldron." The reader will now understand more fully 
the force of the prophecy, " He keepeth all His bones : not one of 
them is broken " (Psa. xxxiv. 20). 

The mixed mass of bones and flesh was then put into the 
caldron, which was generally filled with water, but sometimes 
with milk, as is the custom with the Bedouins of the present, 
day, whose manners are in many respects identical with those 
of the early Jews. It has been thought by some commentators 
that the injunction not to "seethe a kid in his mother's milk" 
(Deut. xiv. 21) referred to this custom. 1 believe, however, that 
the expression " in his mother's milk " does not signify that the 
flesh of the kid might not be boiled in its mother's milk, but 



THE SHEEP, 165 

that a kid might not be taken which was still in its mother's 
milk, i.e. unweaned. 

Salt and spices were generally added to it ; see Ezek. xxiv. 10 : 
" Heap on wood, kindle the lire, consume the flesh, and spice it 
well." The surface was carefully skimmed, and, when the meat 
was thoroughly cooked, it and the broth were served up sepa- 
rately. The latter was used as a sort of sauce, into which un- 
leavened bread was dipped. So in Judges vi. 19 we read that 
when Gideon was visited by the angel, according to the hos- 
pitable custom of the land, he " made ready a kid, and unlea- 
vened cakes of an ephah of flour : the flesh he put in a basket, 
and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him 
under the oak, and presented it to him." 

Valuable, however, as was the Slreep for this purpose, there 
has always existed a great reluctance to kill the animal, the very 
sight of the flocks being an intense gratification to a pastoral 
Oriental. The principal part of the food supplied by the Sheep 
was, and is still, the milk ; which afforded abundant food with- 
out thinning the number of the flock. As all know who have 
tasted it, the milk of the Sheep is peculiarly rich, and in the 
East is valued much more highly than that of cattle. The 
milk was seldom drunk in a fresh state, as is usually the case 
with ourselves, but was suffered to become sour, curdled, and 
semi-solid. 

This custom exists at the present day, the curdled milk being 
known by the name of " leben." It is worthy of notice that all 
the Kaffir tribes of Southern Africa, who live almost entirely on 
milk, also use it curdled, under the name of " amasi," and utterly 
refuse to drink it in its fresh state, looking upon new milk much 
as we should look upon unfermented ale. It is curdled by being 
placed in a vessel together with some of the already curdled 
milk, and the usual plan is to preserve for this special purpose a 
vessel which is never wholly emptied, and which is found to 
curdle the milk with great rapidity. 

" Leben " is exceedingly nutritious, and especially adapted for 
children, who, when accustomed to it, will very much prefer it 
to the milk in a fresh state. Two separate words are used in 
the Old Testament to distinguish fresh from curdled milk, the 
former being called Chalab, and the latter Chemhah. 

For butter (if we may accept the rendering of the word) the 



166 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

milk of the cow or the goat seems to have been preferred, 
although that of the Sheep also furnishes it. This distinction is 
drawn even in the earliest days of Jewish history, and in the 
Song of Moses (Dent, xxxii. 13, 14) we find this passage, " He 
made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty 
rock ; butter of kine and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs." 

There is, however, a little uncertainty about the word which 
is translated as butter, and as this word is only used in a very 
few passages, we will refer briefly to them. The first mention 
of butter occurs in Gen. xviii. 8, where w r e are told that 
Abraham "took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had 
dressed, and set it before them." In this passage we find the 
words " chemhah " and " chalah " are. used, the former being trans- 
lated in the Jewish Bible as "clotted cream" Abraham therefore 
gave his angelic guests their choice of milk, both fresh and 
curdled. In the passage from Deut. xxxii. 14, which has 
already been mentioned, the same words are used, as they are 
in the well-known passage in the history of Jael and Sisera 
(Judges v. 25) : " He asked water, and she gave him milk 
(chalab) ; she brought forth butter (chemhah) in a lordly dish." 

Again, the butter which Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai brought 
to David, together with honey, was the chemhah (2 Sam. xvii 
29). In the familiar passage, " Butter and honey shall He eat" 
(Isa. vii. 15), the same word is used ; and so it is in Job xx. 17, 
" He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and 
butter." 

But in Prov. xxx. 33, " Surely the churning (mitz) of milk 
(chalab) bringeth forth butter" (chemhah), we have a proof 
that the chemhah, whatever it may be, is produced by the 
churning or pressure of the fresh milk. As to the exact force of 
the word " mitz " there is a little doubt, some persons translating 
it as pressure, and others as agitating or shaking, a movement 
which, when applied to milk, would be rightly translated as 
churning. This latter interpretation is strengthened by the con- 
text, " Surely the churning (mitz) of milk bringeth forth butter, 
and the wringing (mitz) of the nose bringeth forth blood." 

It is most probable that the chemhah may signify both clotted 
cream and butter, just as many words in our language have two 
or more significations. Some commentators have thought that 
the ancient Jews were not acquainted with butter. This 



THE SHEEP. 167 

theory, however, is scarcely tenable. Butter is used largely at 
the present day, and is made after the simple fashion of the 
East, by shaking the cream in a vessel, exactly as it is made 
among the black tribes of Southern Africa and other parts of the 
world. And, considering the unchanging character of institu- 
tions m the East, we may assume as certain that the ancient 
inhabitants of Palestine were, like their modern successors, 
acquainted both with the clotted cream and true butter. 

Moreover, two substances, butter and honey, which are men- 
tioned in Samuel, in Job, and in Isaiah, as connected with each 
other, are still eaten together in the East. 

A reference to the milk of Sheep is to be found in the New 
Testament : " Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the 
fruit thereof ? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk 
of the flock ? " (1 Cor. ix. 7). 

In this country the milk of the Sheep is scarcely ever used, 
but in Scotland, especially in the great Sheep-feeding districts, its 
milk is valued as it deserves, and is specially employed for the 
manufacture of cheese. 

The mention of cheese brings us to another branch of the 
subject. Gesenius thinks that the chemhah mentioned in Prov. 
xxx. must be a kind of cheese, on account of the word " mitz," 
i.e. pressure. Thus the word " cheese " occurs three times in 
the Authorized Version of the Bible, and in all these passages 
a different word is used. We will take them in their order. 
The first mention occurs in 1 Sain. xvii. 17, 18, " And Jesse said 
unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this 
parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy 
brethren ; and cany these ten cheeses unto the captain of their 
thousand." In this passage the word which is rendered " cheeses " 
in the Authorized Version is " charitz," a term which is translated 
in the Jewish Bible as " slices of cheeses," on account of the 
etymology of the word, which is derived from a root signifying 
slicing or cutting. 

Another word is used in 2 Sam. xvii. 29, where, among the 
provisions that Barzillai brought to David, is mentioned " cheese 
of kine." The Hebrew word " shaphoth," which is translated as 
cheese, derives its origin from a root signifying to scrape. 

The third term translated as cheese is to be found in Job x. 10, 
"Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like 



168 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

cheese?" The word "gebiuah," which is here translated as 
" cheese " both in the Authorized Version and the Jewish Bible, 
is derived from a root signifying to curdle. 

Here, then, we have three passages, in each of which a 
different word is mentioned, and yet these words have been 
translated in a precisely similar maimer, both in our own version 
and in the Jewish Bible. The subject is so well summed up 
by the Rev. W. L. Bevan, in Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible," 
that we may insert here the passage : — 

"It is difficult to decide how far these terms correspond 
with our notion of cheese, for they simply imply various degrees 
of coagulation. It may be observed that cheese is not at the 
present day common among the Bedouin Arabs, butter being 
decidedly preferred. But there is a substance closely corre- 
sponding to those mentioned in 1 Sam. xvii., 2 Sam. xvii., con- 
sisting of coagulated buttermilk, which is dried until it becomes 
quite hard, and is then ground. The Arabs eat it with butter. 
(Burckhardt, ' Notes on the Bedouins,' i. 60.) 

" In reference to this subject, it is noticeable that the ancients 
seem generally to have used either butter or cheese, but not 
both. Thus the Greeks had in reality but one expression for 
the two ; for ftovrepov^ fiovs-rvpos ('cheese of kine'). The 
Romans used cheese extensively, while all nomad tribes pre- 
ferred butter. The distinction between cheese proper and 
coagulated milk seems to be referred to in Pliny xi. 96." 

The reader will observe that this opinion exactly coincides 
with that which was expressed a few lines above, namely, that 
the Hebrews used one word to express both butter and cheese. 
The coagulated and dried buttermilk — i.e. the " leben " of the 
Bedouins, and the " amasi " of the Kaffir tribe — may well be 
the " shaphoth bakar," or " scrapings of the kine," as being 
necessarily scraped off the stone or metal plate on which it 
was dried. 

We now come to a portion of the Sheep scarcely less im- 
portant than the flesh and the milk, i.e. the fleece, or wool. 

In the ancient times nearly the whole of the clothing was 
made of wool, especially the most valuable part of it, namely 
the large mant. ".<?, or "haiek," in which the whole person could 
be folded, and which was the usual covering during sleep. The. 



THE SHEEP. 1GP 

wool, therefore, would be an article of great national value ; and 
so we find that when the king of Moab paid his tribute in kind 
to the king of Israel, it was carefully specified that the Sheep 
should not be shorn. " And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep- 
master, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand 
lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool." 

The wool of the Sheep of Palestine differed extremely in value ; 
some kinds being course and rough, while others were long, 
fine, and soft. 

The wool was dressed in those times much as it is at pre- 
sent, being carded and then spun with the spindle, the distaff 
being apparently unused, and the wool simply drawn out by the 
hand. The shape of the spindle was much like that of the well- 
known Hat spinning-tops that come from Japan — namely, a 
disc through which passes an axle. A smart twirl given by the 
fingers to the axle makes the disc revolve very rapidly, and its 
weight causes the rotation to continue for a considerable time. 
Spinning the wool was exclusively the task of the women, a 
custom which prevailed in this country up to a very recent 
time, and which still traditionally survives in the term "spinster," 
and in the metaphorical use of the word "distaff" as synony- 
mous with a woman's proper work. 

Only a few passages occur in the Scriptures in which spinning 
is mentioned. In Exod. xxxv. 25 we are told that, when the 
people were preparing the materials for the Tabernacle, " all the 
women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and 
brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, 
and of scarlet, and of fine linen." It is true that in Prov. 
xxxi. 19 there is mention both of the distaff and spindle : " She 
layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hand holds the distaff;" 
but the word which is translated as " distaff" is more probably 
the flat disc which gave to the spindle its whirling movement. 
Buxtorf \s " Hebrew Lexicon " favours this interpretation, trans- 
lating the word as " verticulum, quasi fusi directorium," the 
word being derived from a root signifying straight, or to keep 
something else straight. 

The only other reference to spinning is the well-known 
passage, "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they toil not, 
neither do they spin : and yet I say unto you, That Solomon in 
all his glory was not arrayed like one cf these." 



170 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

When spun into threads, the wool was woven in the simple 
loom which has existed up to our own day, and which is 
identical in its general principles throughout a very large 
portion of the world. It consisted of a framework of wood, at 
one end of which was placed the " beam " to which the warp 
was attached ; and at the other end was the " pin" on which the 
cloth was rolled as it was finished. 

The reader may remember that when Delilah was cajoling 
Samson to tell her the secret of his strength, he said, " If thou 
weavest the seven locks of my head with the web." So, as he 
slept, she interwove his long hair with the fabric which was on 
her loom, and, to make sure, " fastened it with the pin," i.e. wove 
it completely into the cloth which was rolled round the pin. 
So firmly had she done so, that when he awoke he could not 
disentangle his hair, but left the house with the whole of the 
loom, the beam and the pin, and the web hanging to his head. 

The threads of the warp were separated by slight rods, and 
the woof was passed between them with a shuttle shaped 
something like a sword, which answered the double purpose 
of conducting the thread, and of striking it with the edge so as 
to make it lie regularly in its place. 

The loom may either have been upright or horizontal, but was 
probably the former, the weaver standing at his work, beginning 
at the top, and so weaving down. The seamless coat or tunic 
of our Lord was thus made, being " woven from the top through- 
out," like the Roman garments of a similar character, called 
recta?, signifying that they were woven in an upright loom. 
According to the Jewish traditions, the sacerdotal garments were 
thus made in one piece. 

Allusion is made to the speed with which the weaver throws 
his shuttle in Job vii. 6, " My days are swifter than a weaver's 
shuttle, and are passed without hope." When the fabric was 
finished, the weaver cut it away from the thrum, an operation 
which is noticed in the following passage of Isa. xxxviii. 12, "'Mine 
age is departed, and is removed from me like a shepherd's tent: 
I have cut off like a weaver my life : He will cut me off with 
pining sickness." The latter sentence is translated in the Jewish 
Bible " He will cut me off from the thrum," and the same render- 
ing is in the marginal note of the Authorized Version. 



THE SHEEP. 171 

The reader may remember a remarkab.e prohibition in Deut. 
xxii. 11, "Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as 
woollen and linen together," a prohibition which was sufficiently 
important to be repeated in Lev. xix. 19. Now the word which 
is rendered as "divers sorts" in one passage and as "mingled" in 
the other has been variously interpreted, some persons rendering 
it as motley, some as spurious or counterfeit, and some as spotted 
like a leopard. It is probable, however, that our Authorized 
Version is the correct one, and that we may accept the exposi- 
tion of Josephus on the subject. He states that such garments, 
i.e. of linen warp and woollen woof, were intended wholly for 
sacerdotal use, and were in consequence prohibited to the 
laity. 

Wool when taken from the Sheep was of various colours, 
according to the animal from which it was shorn ; but the most 
valuable was necessarily the white variety, which might either 
be used without dyeing, or stained of any favourite hue. 
Several allusions to the whiteness of such avooI are made in 
the Scriptures. See for example Ps. cxlvii. 16, "He giveth 
snow like wool, and scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes." Also 
Isa. i. 18, " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
white as snow 7 ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool." In the prophet Daniel the Ancient of Days is described 
as having "His garments as white as snow, and the hair of His 
head like the pure wool." And in Rev. i. 14 the same 
image is repeated, "His head and His hairs were white like 
wool, as white as snow." 

The reader will not fail to observe that in all these passages 
wool and snow are mentioned as of equal whiteness. The 
reference is probably made to the newly-carcled w T ool, which is 
peculiarly white and soft. 

Wool was often dyed of various colours ; blue, purple, and 
scarlet being those which were generally employed. The rams' 
skins which formed part of the covering of the Tabernacle were 
ordered to be dyed scarlet, partly on account of the significance 
of the colour, and partly because none but the best and purest 
fleeces would be chosen for so rare and. costly a dye. How the 
colour was produced we shall learn towards the end of the 
volume. 

As with us, sheep- shearing was always a time of great re- 



172 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

joicing and revelry, which seem often to have been carried beyond 
the bounds of sobriety. Thus when Nabal had gathered together 
his three thousand Sheep in Carmel, and held a shearing festival, 
David sent to ask for some provisions for his band, and was 
refused in accordance with the disposition of the man, who had 
inflamed his naturally churlish nature with wine. " He held a 
feast in his house, like the feast of a king : and Nabal's heart was 
merry within him, for he was very drunken" (1 Sam. xxv. 36). 

The same was probably the case when Laban was shearing his 
Sheep (Gen. xxxi. 19). Otherwise it would scarcely have been 
possible for Jacob to have gone away unknown to Laban, taking 
with him his wives and children, his servants, his camels, and 
his flocks, the rapid increase of which had excited the jealousy 
of his uncle, and which were so numerous that, in fear of his 
brother Esau, he divided them into two bands, and yet was able 
to select from them a present to his brother, consisting in all of 
nearly six hundred sheep, camels, oxen, goats, and asses. 

Sometimes the shepherds and others who lived in pastoral 
districts made themselves coats of the skins of the Sheep, v/ith 
the wool still adhering to it. The custom extends to the present 
day, and even in many parts of Europe the sheep-skin dress of 
the shepherds is a familiar sight to the traveller. The skin was 
sometimes tanned and used as leather, but was considered as 
inferior to that of the goat. Mr. Tristram conjectures that the 
leathern " girdle ,: worn by St. John the Baptist was probably the 
untanned sheep-skin coat which has been just mentioned. So 
it is said of the early Christians, that " they wandered about in 
sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented," 
the sheep-skins in question being evidently the rude shepherd's 
coats. 

Next to the wool come the horns. 

In our country we have done our best to produce a hornless 
breed of Sheep, thinking the nutriment which produces the 
horns can be better expended on the body and fleece, but in the 
East the horns form an important commodity, and are valued in 
proportion to their size. 

Tho chief use of the ram's horn was as a vessel in which to 
carry liquids, especially those which, like oil, were poured out in 
srmii) quantities. For this purpose a wooden plug was driven 



THE SHEEP. 173 

tightly into the larger end, so as to close it completely, and 
frequently covered, in addition, with raw hide, in order to hold 
it firnilv in its place, while the small part of the pointed end was 
cut off, and the aperture closed with a small stopper. The old 
powder-horns which were formerly much used in England, and 
which even now are employed in Palestine and many other 
countries, were good examples of this form of vessel. 

That the horn was the favourite vessel for carrying oil is seen, 
in many passages of the Scriptures. For example, when Saul 
was to be superseded by David, Samuel was ordered to fill his 
horn with oil and go to Jesse's house, 1 Sam. i. 39. The allusion 
was evidently to a vessel whose ordinary use was the holding of 
oil. Again, when David named Solomon his son (see 1 Kings 
i. 39), " Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the Taber- 
nacle, and anointed Solomon," the oil being that which was kept 
in the Tabernacle for sacred purposes, and the ingredients of 
which were so carefully chosen, for it was to be an " oil of holy 
ointment, an ointment compounded after the art of the 
apothecary (or perfumer), which shall be an holy anointing oil " 
(Ex. xxx. 25). 

The horn of the ram had also a national value, as from it were 
made the sacred trumpets which played so important a part in 
the history of the Jewish nation. There is no doubt that the 
primitive trumpets were originally formed either from the horn 
of an animal, such as the ox, the large-horned antelopes, the 
sheep, and the goat, and that in process of time they were made 
of metal, generally copper or silver. 

' Inferences are frequently made in the Bible to these trumpets, 
for which there were different names, probably on account of 
their different forms. These names are, however, very loosely 
rendered in our version, the same word being sometimes trans- 
lated the '• cornet," and sometimes the " trumpet." Putting aside, 
however, these points of difference, we have chiefly to remark 
the fact that trumpets made of rams' horns were ordered by the 
Mosaic law to be sounded at certain times, and that their notes 
formed an important part of the ritual. 

Each jubilee year, for example, was ushered in by the blasts 
of the sacred trumpets. " Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of 
the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in 
the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound through- 



174 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

out all your land " (Xev. xxv. 9). Then there was the festival 
known as the Feast of Trumpets. " In the seventh month, on 
the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation ; 
ye shall do no servile work : it is a day of blowing the trumpets 
unto you" (Numb. xxix. 1). 

Perhaps the most prominent instance of the blowing of the 
sacred trumpet may be found in the familiar passage in the book 
. of Joshua (ch. vi.) in which is described the fall of Jericho. " Ye 
shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go about the city 
once. This ye shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear before 
the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns (or jubilee cornets) ; and the 
seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests 
shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, when 
they make a long blast with the rams' horns, and when ye hear 
the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great 
shout ; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the 
people shall ascend up every man straight before him." 

Trumpets were also used as signals to the people. " Declare 
ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the 
trumpet in the land : cry, gather together and say, Assemble 
yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities" (Jer. iv. 5). 
And on that great and solemn day when the law was given 
from Mount Sinai the signal to the people was the sound of the 
trumpet (or cornet, as the word is translated in the margin). 
" And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that 
there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the 
mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that 
all the people that was in the camp trembled" (Exod. xix. 16). 

The Hebrew word which is here translated as " trumpet " is 
"shofar," which signifies also a horn, and is therefore very rightly 
translated in the margin and in the Jewish Bible as "cornet." 
What may have been the shape of the shofar is evident from 
the fact that the same instrument is used even at the present 
day in certain parts of the Jewish ritual. One of these trumpets 
is now before me, and is shown in the accompanying illustration. 

In length it measures eighteen inches, i.e. a cubit, and it is 
formed entirety in one piece. As far as I can judge, it is made 
from the left horn of the broad-tailed Sheep, which, as has already 
been remarked, is not spiral, but flattish, curved backwards, and 
forming nearly a circle, the point passing under the ear. This 



THE SHEEP, 175 

structure, added to the large size of the horn, adapts it well for 
its puroose. In order to bring it to the proper shape, the horn 
is softened by heat, and is then modelled into the very form 
which was used by the Jewish priests who blew the trumpet 
before the ark. 




RAM S HORN TRUMPET. 



At the present day one such trumpet, at least, is found in 
every Jewish community, and is kept by the man who has the 
privilege of blowing it. On the New Year's festival and the 
Day of Atonement the trumpet is used in the Jewish ritual, 
and as the ceremonies connected with blowing it are extremely 
interesting, they will be briefly described. 

The trumpeter, who is not necessarily a priest, but may be 
any pious man selected from the congregation, prepares himself 
by bathing, and at the appointed time puts on the white shirt or 
shroud in which Jews are buried. Before the trumpet is blown, 
a prayer is said, containing many cabalistic names of angels and 
malachim, or powers. These names may not be pronounced. 

The Rabbi then stands, and gives out the names of the sacred 
tones in their succession. By the kindness of Dr. Herman 
Beigel, I have been enabled to hear the tones, and to put them 
into musical notes, — I believe for the first time since they 
have been used. The tones are four in number, and are called 
as follows : Tekeeah (the blowing), Shebariiu (the repeated 
notes), Terooah (the note of joy), and Tekeeah-gedolah (the 
lengthened blowing). It is not very easy exactly to express on 
paper these ancient tones, but the following notes will give a 
good idea of them. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Terooah. Tekeeah-geddlah. 






176 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

These tones are blown in three partitions, in the following 
order : — 

Partition I. Partition II. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Tekeeah. Tekeeah. Terooah. Tekeeah. 

Tekeeab. Shebarim. Tekeeah. Tekeeab. Terooah. Tekeeah. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Tekeeah. Tekeeah. Terooah. Tekeeah. 

Partition III. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Terooah. Tekeeab. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Terooah. Tekeeah. 

Tekeeah. Shebarim. Terooah. Tekeeah-gedolah. 

Between each partition a pause is made, during which the 
congregation join in a prayer which is full of cabalistic names 
of the angels who have charge over the sacred tones. And, 
according to a beautiful Hebrew tradition, when the trumpet is 
blown with the proper rites, each tone is transformed into an 
angel, who ascends to join his heavenly colleagues, and with 
them forms a crown before the throne of God. So that, ever 
since the Jewish ritual was established, every New Year's fes- 
tival and Day of Atonement send forth their own angels, as 
additional jewels to the heavenly crown. 

These tones are the same all over the world, and have been 
unchanged for countless generations, so that we may be nearly 
certain that the blast before which the walls of Jericho fell were 
the four sacred tones which have just been described. The 
reader will perceive that all the tones are simply octaves, blown 
with more or less rapidity, the short notes of Terooah being 
taken as quickly as the trumpeter can blow them, and the con- 
cluding note well swelled out, until " the voice of the cornet 
waxes exceeding loud." 

The sounds of the shofar are very peculiar and harsh, quite 
unlike the notes of any modern instrument. In spite, however, 
of the wild and almost discordant harshness of the instrument, 
and the abrupt and even startling character of the Shebarim 
and Terooah, the sound of the shofar has a strangely solemn 
effect, carrying back the mind of the hearer to the time when 
the priests bore their rams'-horn trumpets before the ark, and 
blew the same sacred blasts under the shadow of Sinai. 

Dr. Beigel has made a most singular discovery concerning the 
tones of the shofar. If the reader will blow them on a flute 
in the exact order in which they stand, he will find that he is 



THE SHEEP. 177 

playing a portion of the nightingale's song. This remarkable 
fact has been communicated to the Chief Rabbi and other 
Rabbin, who are unanimous in expressing their satisfaction at 
it. We cannot, of course, venture to say whether the sacreu 
tones were in the first instance copied from the notes of a singing 
bird, but it is not unlikely that, whether consciously or not, the 
mind of the ancient composer might have been influenced by 
tones which he had often heard, and which could be reproduced 
in the limited compass of the ram's horn trumpet. 

The old Rabbinical writers have a curious saying about the 
ram : " The ram in life has one tone, in death seven." This 
they explain in the following way. When the animal is living 
the only sound which it can produce is the bleat, but when it is 
dead it is made into musical instruments. 

1. Of the horns are made trumpets. 

2. Of the leg- bones are made flutes. 

3. Of the large intestines are made lute-strings. 

4. Of the small intestines are made harp-strings. 

5. Of the skin is made the drum-head. 

6. Of the wool are made the pomegranates which hang be- 
tween the golden bells of the High Priest's garment, 

This latter sentence explains a passage in Exodus xxviii. 33, 
which is not very easy of comprehension. When describing 
the ephod of the High Priest, the sacred writer proceeds to say, 
" And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates 
of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem 
thereof, and bells of gold between them round about." Both the 
material and the use of the blue and purple and scarlet pome- 
granates are here left uncertain, but this old Rabbinical saying 
explains both. They were made of the dyed wool of the sheep, 
and their use was to prevent the bells from clashing harshly 
together, and to keep up a sort of gentle chime as the High 
Priest went about his sacred duties. 

It is very true that only six tones instead of seven are 
enumerated, but we must not be too critical in dissecting an 
aphorism. 

We now come to the important subject, the use of the Sheep 
in sacrifice. 

No animal was used so frequently for this purpose as the 
13 



178 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Sheep, and in many passages of the Mosaic law are specified 
the precise age as well as the sex of the Sheep which was to be 
sacrificed in certain circumstances. Sometimes the Sheep was 
sacrificed as an offering of thanksgiving, sometimes as an 
expiation for sin, and sometimes as a redemption for some more 
valuable animal. The young male lamb was the usual sacrifice ; 
and almost the only sacrifice for which a Sheep might not be 
offered was that of the two goats on the great Day of Atone- 
ment. To mention all the passages in which the Sheep is 
ordered for sacrifice would occupy too much of our space, and 
we will therefore restrict ourselves to the one central rite of 
the Jewish nation, the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, the pre- 
cursor of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the 
world. 

Without examining in full the various ceremonies of the 
Paschal sacrifice, we will glance over the salient points which 
distinguish it from any other sacrifice. 

The lamb must be a male, which is selected and examined 
with the minutest care, that it may be free from all blemish, 
and must be of the first year. It must be killed on the four- 
teenth of the month Abib as the sun is setting, and the blood 
must be sprinkled with hyssop. In the first or Egyptian Pass- 
over the blood was sprinkled on the lintels and doorposts of 
the houses, but afterwards on the altar. It must be roasted 
with fire, *and not boiled, after the usual custom in the East ; 
not a bone must be broken. It must be eaten by the household 
in haste, as if they were just starting on a journey, and if any 
of it should be left, it must be consumed in the fire, and not 
eaten on the following day. 

Such are the chief points in connexion with the Paschal rite, 
at once a sacrifice and a feast. The original directions not being 
sufficiently minute to meet all the practical difficulties which 
might hinder the correct performance of the rite, a vast number 
of directions are given by the Rabbinical writers. In order, for 
example, to guard against the destruction of any part of the 
animal by careless cooking over a fire, or the possible fracture of 
a bone by a sudden jet of flame, the Paschal lamb was rather 
"baked than roasted, being placed in an earthen oven from 
which the ashes had been removed. In order to prevent it 
from being burned or blackened against the sides of the oven, 



THE SHEEP. 179 

(in which case it would be cooked with earthenware and not 
with fire), it was transfixed with a wooden stake, made from the 
pomegranate- tree, and a transverse spit was thrust through the 
shoulders. These spits were made of wood, because a metal spit 
would become heated in the oven, and would cause all the flesh 
which it touched to be roasted with metal, and not w T ith fire ; 
and the wood of the pomegranate was chosen, because that 
wood was supposed not to emit any sap when heated. If a 
drop of water had fallen on the flesh, the law would have been 
broken, as that part of the flesh would be considered as boiled, 
and not roasted. 

As to the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs with 
the lamb, the custom does not bear on the present subject. 
In shape the oven seems to have resembled a straw beehive, 
having an opening at the side by which the fuel could be 
removed and the lamb inserted. 

It is most interesting to compare with the ancient Paschal 
sacrifice the mode of conducting the Passover as still prac- 
tised on Mount Gerizim by the Samaritans, who still " worship 
in this mountain," as their fathers had done. The Samaritans, 
a turbulent nation, or rather an aggregation of tribes who had 
adopted their own modification of the Jewush religion, considered 
Mount Gerizim as the most sacred spot on the earth, and made 
it a principle of their faith to worship there. They hallowed 
the mountain with various traditions, some perhaps true, others 
clearly erroneous. They said that on the summit of Mount 
Gerizim, and not on the comparatively little hill of Moriah, 
Abraham's marvellous faith was so fearfully tested. They even 
now point out the very spot on which it took place — a small 
smoothed plot of ground on the summit of the mountain, 
remarkable for the contrast which its level plateau presents to 
the rough, rugged sides of the mountain, broken by clefts and 
strewn with great angular stones, as if a rocky mountain had 
been blown to pieces and the fragments showered on Gerizim. 

On Gerizim are the " twelve stones " of Joshua, placed by 
him in commemoration of the passage of the Jordan. There 
are the great, massive stones placed closely together in a row, 
and apparently forming part of the rocky mountain itself. 

On Gerizim are the seven steps made by Adam when he was 
driven out of Paradise, and in Gerizim is the cave in which the 



180 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Tabernacle was built. On Gerizim the Passover was celebrated 
in the time of Christ, and on Gerizim it is celebrated still. The 
Samaritans have often been prevented from doing so by the 
Moslems, and even so late as 1842 the Mahometan Ulema 
threatened to murder the whole of the little community, 
under two hundred in number, on the ground that they had 
no religion. 

The Samaritans believe themselves to be children of Ephraim 
and Manasseh, and that their present priest is lineally descended 
from a branch of the tribe of Levi, and have accordingly a great 
pride in their descent. They observe the ceremonial law with 
exceeding care, and, even through the many years of persecution 
to which they have been subjected, they have never failed to go 
thrice in the year to the top of their holy mountain, repeating 
parts of the Law as they ascend. A great loss has lately fallen 
upon them. They had at one time a priesthood of the house 
of Aaron, but the family gradually dwindled away, and at last 
utterly perished. 

The ceremony of the Passover has been described by several 
persons, such as the late Consul Eogers and the Dean of West- 
minster, the latter of whom has given, a most striking and vivid 
account of the rite in his " Lectures on the Jewish Church." 

The place which is now employed in the celebration of this 
rite is a level spot about two hundred yards from the summit of 
the mountain, a place which is apparently selected on account 
of its comparative quiet and seclusion. Dean Stanley thinks 
that in former times, when the Samaritans were the masters of 
the country, they celebrated the sacrifice on the sacred plateau 
on the very summit of the mountain, so that the rite could be 
seen for a vast distance on every side. Now, however, the less 
conspicuous pi ace is preferred. By the kindness of the Pales- 
tine Exploration Society, I am enabled to present the reader 
with a view of this sacred spot, taken from a photograph made 
an hour or two before the time of sacrifice. The rough, rugged 
character of the mountain is shown by this illustration, though 
not so well as in several other photographs of Gerizim, in which 
the entire surface seems to be loosely covered with stones like 
those of which the low wall is built. Near the centre of the 
illustration may be seen a pile of sticks and. the tops of two 
caldrons, on each of which a stone is laid to keep the cover from 



THE SHEEP. 



181 



being blown off by the wind. These sticks nearly fill a trench 
in which the caldrons are sunk, and their use will be presently 
seen on reading Dean Stanley's narrative. In the far distance 
are the plains of Samaria, and the long-drawn shadows of the 
priest and his nephew, and probable successor, show that the 
time of sacrifice is rapidly approaching. 





THE PLACE Of SACRIFICE 



On the previous day the whole of the community had pitched 
their tents on the mountain, and as the time of sunset approached 
the women retired to the tents, and all the males, except those 
who were unclean according to the provisions of the Mosaic law, 
assembled near a long deep trench that had been dug in the 
ground. The men are clothed in long white garments, and the 
cix young men who are selected as the actual sacrifices are 



182 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

dressed in white drawers and shirts. These youths are trained 
to the duty, but whether they hold any sacred office could not 
be ascertained. 

Then, according to the narrative of Dean Stanley, " the priest, 
ascending a large rough stone in front of the congregation, re- 
cited in a loud chant or scream, in which the others joined, 
prayers or praises chiefly turning on the glories of Abraham 
and Isaac. Their attitude was that of all Orientals in prayer ; 
standing, occasionally diversified by the stretching out of the 
hands, and more rarely by kneeling or crouching, with theii 
knees wrapped in their clothes and bent to the ground, towards 
the Holy Place on the summit of Gerizim. The priest recited 
his prayers by heart ; the others had mostly books in Hebrew 
and Arabic. 

" Presently, suddenly there appeared amongst the worshippers 
six sheep, driven up by the side of the youths before mentioned. 
The unconscious innocence with which they wandered to and 
fro amongst the bystanders, and the simplicity in aspect and 
manner of the young men who tended them, more recalled a 
pastoral scene in Arcadia, or one of those inimitable patriarchal 
tableaux represented in the Ammergau Mystery, than a religious 
ceremonial. 

" The sun, meanwhile, which had hitherto burnished up the 
Mediterranean in the distance, now sank very nearly to the 
farthest w-estern ridge overhanging the plain of Sharon. The 
recitation became more vehement. The priest turned about, 
facing his brethren, and the whole history of the Exodus from 
the beginning of the plagues of Egypt was rapidly, almost 
furiously, chanted. The sheep, still innocently playful, were 
driven more closely together. 

" The setting sun now touched the ridge. The youths burst 
into a wild murmur of their own, drew forth their long bright 
knives, and brandished them aloft. In a moment the sheep 
were thrown on their backs, and the flashing knives rapidly 
drawn across their throats. Then a few convulsive but silent 
struggles — 'as a sheep . . . dumb . . . that openeth not his mouth,' 
— and the six forms lay lifeless on the ground, the blood streaming 
from them ; the one only Jewish sacrifice lingering in the world. 
In the blood the young men dipped their fingers, and a small 
spot was marked on the foreheads and noses of the children. A 



THE SHEEP. 183 

few years ago the red stain was placed on all. But this had 
now dwindled away into the present practice, preserved, we were 
told, as a relic or emblem of the whole. Then, as if in con- 
gratulation at the completion of the ceremony, they all kissed 
each other, in the Oriental fashion, on each side of the head. 

" The next process was that of the fleecing and roasting of the 
slaughtered animals, for which the ancient temple furnished 
such ample provisions. Two holes on the mountain side had 
been dug; one at some distance, of considerable depth, the other, 
close to the scene of the sacrifice, comparatively shallow. In 
this latter cavity, after a short prayer, a fire was kindled, out of 
the mass of dry heath, juniper, and briers, such as furnished the 
materials for the conflagration in Jotham's parable, delivered not 
far from this spot. 

" Over the fire were placed two caldrons full of water. Whilst 
the water boiled, the congregation again stood around, and (as if 
for economy of time) continued the recitation of the Book of 
Exodus, and bitter herbs were handed round wrapped in a strip 
of unleavened bread— 'with unleavened bread and bitter herbs 
shall they eat it.' Then was chanted another short prayer; after 
which the six youths again appeared, poured the boiling water 
over the sheep, and plucked off their fleeces. The right forelegs 
of the sheep, with the entrails, were thrown aside and burnt. 
The liver was carefully put back. Long poles were brought, on 
which the animals were spitted ; near the bottom of each pole 
was a transverse peg or stick, to prevent the body from slip- 
ping off." 

This cross-piece does not, however, penetrate the body, which 
in most cases scarcely touches it, so that there is little or no 
resemblance to a crucifixion. The writer lays especial stress on 
this point, because the early Christians saw in the transverse spit 
an emblem of the cross. In the Jewish Passover this emblem 
would have been more appropriate, as in that ceremony the 
cross-piece was passed through the shoulders, and the forefeet 
tied to it. 

The Sheep being now prepared, they were carried to the oven, 
which on this occasion was a deep, circular pit, in which a fire 
had been previously kindled. Into this the victims were care- 
fully lowered, the stakes on which they were impaled guarding 
their bodies from touching the sides of the oven, and the cross- 



184 MBLE ANIMALS. 

piece at the end preventing them from slipping off the stake to 
the bottom of the pit among the ashes. A hurdle was then laid 
on the month of the pit, and wet earth was heaped upon it so as 
to close it completely. The greater pert of the community then 
retired to rest. In about five hours, the Paschal moon being 
high in the heavens, announcement was made that the feast was 
about to begin. Then, to resume Dean Stanley's narrative, 

" Suddenly the covering of the hole was torn off, and up rose 
into the still moonlit sky a vast column of smoke and steam ; 
recalling, with a shock of surprise, that, even by an accidental 
coincidence, Reginald Heber should have so well caught this 
striking feature of so remote and unknown a ritual : 

Smokes on Gerizim's mount Samaria's sacrifice. ' 

" Out of the pit were dragged successively the six sheep, on 
their long spits, black from the oven. The outlines of their 
heads, their ears, their legs, were still visible — 'his head, with 
his legs, and with the inward parts thereof.' They were hoisted 
aloft, and then thrown on large square brown mats, previously 
prepared for their reception, on which we were carefully pre- 
vented from treading, as also from touching even the extremities 
of the spit. 

" The bodies thus wrapped in the mats were hurried down to 
the trench where the sacrifice had taken place, and laid out upon 
them in a line between two files of the Samaritans. Those who 
had before been dressed in white robes still retained them, with 
the addition now of shoes on their feet and staves in their hands, 
and ropes round their waists — 'thus shall ye eat it; with your 
loins girded, your shoes on your feet, your staff in your hand.' 
The recitation of prayers or of the Pentateuch recommenced, and 
continued till it suddenly terminated in their all sitting down on 
their haunches, after the Arab fashion at meals, and beginning 
to eat. This, too, is a deviation from the practice of onl}' a few 
years since, when they retained the Mosaic ritual of standing 
whilst they ate. The actual feast was conducted in rapid silence, 
as of men in hunger, as no doubt most of them were, and so as 
soon to consume every portion of the blackened masses, which 
they tore away piecemeal with their fingers — ' ye shall eat in 
haste.' There was a general merriment, as of a hearty and 
welcome meal. 



THE CHAMOIS. 185 

u In ten minutes all was gone but a few remnants. To the 
priest and to the women, who, all but two (probably his two 
wives), remained in the tents, separate morsels were carried 
round. The remnants were gathered into the mats, and put on a 
wooden grate, or hurdle, over the hole where the water had been 
originally boiled ; the fire was again lit, and a huge bonfire was 
kindled. By its blaze, and by candles lighted for the purpose, 
the ground was searched in every direction, as for the conse- 
crated particles of sacramental elements ; and these fragments of 
flesh and bone were thrown upon the burning mass — 'ye shall 
let nothing remain until the morning ; and that which remaineth 
until the morning ye shall burn with fire ; ' 'there shall not 
anything of the flesh which thou sacrificest the first day at even 
remain all night until the morning ; ' ' thou shalt not cany forth 
aught of the flesh abroad out of the house.' The flames blazed 
up once more, and then gradually sank away. 

" Perhaps in another century the fire on Mount Gerizim will 
be the only relic left of this most interesting and ancient rite." 



THE CHAMOIS. 

The Zemer or Chamois only once mentioned in the Bible — Signification of the 
word Zemer — Probability that the Zemer is the Aoudad — Appearance of the 
Aoudad — Its strength and activity — Fierce temper of the adult male — Horns 
of the Aoudad — Their probable use as musical instruments— Habits of the 
Aoudad — The Mouilon probably classed with the Aoudad uuder the name of 
Zemer — Appearance and habits of the Mouflon. 

AMONG the animals which may be used for food is mentioned 
one which in our version is rendered Chamois. See Deut. xiv. o, 
a passage which has several times been quoted. 

It is evident to any one acquainted with zoology that, what- 
ever may be the Hebrew word, " Chamois " cannot be the correct 
rendering, inasmuch as the real Chamois does not inhabit Pales- 
tine, nor are there any proofs that it ever did so. We must, 
therefore, look for some other animaL 



186 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Then, the Hebrew word, which only occurs once in the Bible^ 
is Zamar, or Zemer, i.e. the leaper, and therefore an animal which 
is conspicuous for its agility. Zoologists have now agreed in 
the opinion that the Zamer of Deuteronomy is the handsome 
wild sheep which we know under the name of Aoudad {Ammo- 
tragus Tragelaphus). This splendid sheep is known by various 
names. It is the Jaela of some authors, and the Bearded Sheep of 
others. It is also called the Fichtall, or Lerwea ; and the French 
zoologists describe it under the name of Mouflon a mancheties, 
in allusion to the fringe of long hair that ornaments the fore 
limbs. 

The Aoudad is a large and powerful animal, exceedingly 
active, and has the habits of the goat rather than of the sheep, 
on which account it is reckoned among the goats by the Arabs 
of the present day, and doubtless was similarly classed by the 
ancient inhabitants of Palestine. The height of the adult 
Aoudad is about three feet, and its general colour is pale dun, 
relieved by the dark masses of long hair that fall from the neck 
and the tufts of similar hair which decorate the knees of the 
male. The female is also bearded and tufted, but the hair, 
which in the male looks like the mane of the lion, in the female 
is but slightly developed. 

It is so powerful and active an animal, that an adult male 
which lived for some time in the Zoological Gardens was much 
dreaded by the keepers, not even the man who fed it liking to 
enter the enclosure if he could help himself. The animal was 
given to making unexpected charges, and would do so with 
astonishing quickness, springing round and leaping at the object 
of his hate with tremendous force, and with such rapidity that 
even the experienced keeper, who knew all the ways of the 
animals under his charge, had often some difficulty in slipping 
behind the door, against which the horns of the Aoudad would 
clatter as if they would break the door to pieces. So fond was 
he of attacking something that he would often butt repeatedly 
at the wooden side of the shed, hurling himself against it with 
eager fury. 

The horns of the Aoudad are about two feet in length, and are 
of considerable diameter. They curve boldly and gracefully 
backwards, their points diverging considerably from each other, 
so that when the animal throws its head up, the points of the 



THE CHAMOIS. 



187 



horns come on either side of the back. This divergence of the 
horns has another object. They cover a considerable space, so 
that when the animal makes its charge the object of its anger 
has much more difficulty in escaping the blow than if the horns 
were closer together. 




THK AOUDAD CHASED. 

•• These are the beos's vhich ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat .... and the 
chamois."— Deut. xiv. 4, 5. 



Whether these horns were used as musical instruments is 
doubtful, simply because we are not absolutely sure that the 
Zamar and the Aoudad are identical, however great may be the 
probability. But inasmuch as the horn-trumpets were evidently 
of various sizes, it is certain that the Jewish musicians would 
never have neglected to take advantage of such magnificent 
materials as they would obtain from the horns of this animal 



188 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Perhaps the Chaldaic " keren " may have been the horn of the 
Aoudad, or of the animal which will next be mentioned. 

The Aoudad is wonderfully active, and even the young ones 
bound to an astonishing height. I have seen the marks of their 
hoofs eight feet from the ground. 

In its wild state the Aoudad lives in little flocks or herds, 
and prefers the high and rocky ground, over which it leaps with 
a sure-footed agility equal to that of the Chamois itself. These 
flocks are chased by hunters, who try to get it upon the lowest 
and least broken ground, where it is at a disadvantage, and 
then run it down with their horses, as seen in the illustration 
on page 187. 

The Aoudad was formerly plentiful in Egypt, and even now 
is found along the Atlas mountain-range. It is seen on the 
Egyptian monuments, and, owing to its evident profusion, we 
have every reason to conjecture that it was one of those animals 
which were specially indicated as chewing the cud and cleaving 
the hoof. 

Perhaps the Mouflon (Caprovis Musimon) may be the animal 
which is meant by the Hebrew word Zamar, and it is not 
unlikely that both animals may have been included in one 
name. 

This animal, which is nearly allied to the Aoudad, is also 
very goatlike in general aspect. It is indeed to this lesemblance 
that the name Caprovis, or goat-sheep, has been given to it. The 
name Ammotragus, which, as mentioned above, belongs to the 
Aoudad, has a similar signification. 

The horns of the Mouflon belong only to the male animal, 
and are of enormous size, so that if trumpets of deep tone and 
great power were needed, they could be obtained from the horns 
of this animal. Those of the Aoudad are very large, and would 
be well adapted for the same purpose, but they would not furnish 
such instruments as the horns of the Mouflon, which are so 
large that they seem almost unwieldy for an animal of twice 
the Mouflon's size, and give visible proofs of the strength and 
agility of an animal which can carry them so lightly and leap 
about under their weight so easily as does the Mouflon. 

At the present time the Moutlon is only to be found in 
Crete, Sardinia, and Corsica, but formerly it was known to 



THE GOAT. 189 

inhabit many other parts of the earth, and was almost certainly 
one of the many animals which then haunted the Lebanon, but 
which have in later days been extirpated. 



THE GOAT. 

Value of the Goat — Its use in furnishing food — The male kid the usual animal of 
slaughter — Excellence of the flesh and deception of Isaac — Milk of the Goat — 
An Oriental milking scene— The hair of the goat, and the uses to which it is 
put — The Goat's skin used for leather — The "bottle" of Scripture — Mode of 
making and repairing the bottles — Ruse of the Gibeonites — The " bottle in the 
smoke " — The sacks and the kneading troughs — The Goat as used for sacrifice 
— General habits of the Goat — Sepai-ation of the Goats from the sheep — Per- 
forming Goats — Different breeds of Goats in Palestine. 

Whether considered in reference to food, to clothing, or to 
sacrifice, the Goat was scarcely a less important animal than the 
sheep. It was especially valuable in such a country as Pales- 
tine, in which the soil and the climate vary so much according 
to the locality. Upon the large fertile plains the sheep are bred 
in vast flocks, the rich and succulent grass being exactly to their 
taste ; while in the hilly and craggy districts the Goats abound, 
and delight in browsing upon the scanty herbage that grows 
upon the mountain-side. 

For food the Goat was even more extensively used than the 
sheep. The adult male was, of course, not eaten, being very 
tough, and having an odour which would repel any but an 
actually starving man. Neither were the females generally 
eaten, as they were needed for the future increase of the flocks. 
The young male kid formed the principal material of a feast, and 
as soon as a stranger claimed the hospitality of a man in good 
circumstances, the first thing that was done was to take a young 
male kid and dress it for him. 

For example, when the angel visited Gideon m the guise of a 
stranger, Gideon " went in and made ready a kid, and unlea- 
vened cakes of an ephah of flour," and brought them to his 
guest (Judges vi. 19). And when Isaac was on his death-bed, 



190 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

and asked Esau to take his bow and arrows and hunt for 
" venison," which was probably the flesh of one of the antelopes 
which have already been mentioned, a ready substitute was 
found in the two kids, from whose flesh Eebekah made the dish 
for which he longed. The imposition might easily pass without 
detection, because the flesh of the kid is peculiarly tender, and 
can scarcely be distinguished from lamb, even when simply 
roasted. Isaac, therefore, with his senses dulled by his great 
age, was the less likely to discover the imposture, when the flesh 
of the kids was stewed into " savoury meat such as he loved." 

A curious illustration of the prevalence of kid's flesh as food 
is given in the parable of the prodigal son, for whom his father 
had killed the fatted calf. "And he answering said to his 
father, Lo, these many years do T serve thee, neither transgressed 
I at any time thy commandment : and yet thou never gavest me 
a kid, that I might make merry with my friends " (Luke xv. 29). 
The force of the reproval cannot be properly understood unless we 
are acquainted with the customs of the East. The kid was the 
least valuable animal that could have been given, less valuable 
than a lamb, and infinitely inferior to the fatted calf, which was 
kept in wealthy households for some feast of more than ordinary 
magnificence. 

The kid was cooked exactly in the same manner as the sheep, 
namely, by cutting to pieces and stewing in a caldron, the meat 
and broth being served separately. See, for example, the case of 
Gideon, to whom a reference has already been made. When he 
brought the banquet to his guest, " the flesh he put in a basket, 
and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under 
the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, 
Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this 
rock, and pour out the broth." 

The same custom exists at the present day. When an Arab 
chief receives a guest, a kid is immediately killed and given to 
the women to be cooked in a separate tent, and the guest is 
pressed to stay until it is ready, in the very words used by Gideon 
three thousand years ago. " Depart not hence, I pray thee, until 
I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before 
thee." And the angelic guest answered him just as a modern 
Arab traveller would answer his host, " I will tarry until thou 
For the refusal of proffered hospitality would be, 



THE GOAT. 191 

and still is considered to be, either a studied insult, or a proof 
of bad manners, and no one with any claims to breeding would 
commit such an action without urgent cause and much apology. 

Like the sheep, the Goat is extremely valuable as a milk- 
producer, and at the present day the milk of the Goat is used 
as largely as that of the sheep. " At Rasheiya, under Mount 
Hermon," writes Mr. Tristram, " we saw some hundreds of 
goats gathering for the night in the wide open market-place 
beneath the castle. It was no easy matter to thread our way 
among them, as they had no idea of moving for such belated in- 
truders on their rest. All the she-goats of the neighbouring hills 
are driven in every evening, and remain for their morning's 
milking, after which they set forth on their day's excursion. 

" Each house possesses several, and all know their owners. 
The evening milking is a picturesque scene. Every street and 
open space is filled with the goats ; and women, boys, and girls 
are everywhere milking with their small pewter pots, while the 
goats are anxiously awaiting their turn, or lying down to chew 
the cud as soon as it is over. As no kids or he- goats are 
admitted, the scene is very orderly, and there is none of the 
deafening bleating which usually characterises large flocks. 

" These mountain goats are a solemn set, and by the gravity of 
their demeanour excite a suspicion that they have had no youth, 
and never were kids. They need no herdsman to bring them 
home in the evening, for, fully sensible of the danger of re- 
maining unprotected, they hurry homewards of their own accord 
as soon as the sun begins to decline." 

Like the wool of the sheep, the hair of the Goat is used for 
the manufacture of clothing ; and, as is the case with wool, its 
quality differs according to the particular breed of the animal, 
which assumes almost as many varieties as the sheep or the dog. 
The hair of some varieties is thick and rough, and can only be 
made into coarse cloths, while others, of which the mohair Goat 
and Cashmere Goat are familiar examples, furnish a staple of 
surpassing delicacy and fineness. It is most likely that the 
covering and curtains of the Tabernacle mentioned in Exod. 
xxvi. 7 were of the latter kind, as otherwise they would have 
been out of character with the fine linen, and blue and scarlet, 
their golden clasps, and the profuse magnificence which distin- 



192 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

guished every part of the sacred building. Moreover, the hair 
of the Goat is classed among the costly offerings which were 
made when the Tabernacle was built. " And they came forth, 
men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought 
bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of 
gold : and every man that offered offered an offering of gold 
unto the Lord. And every man, with whom was found blue, 
and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red 
skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them " to be used in 
the structure of that wonderful building, in which nothing 
might be used except the finest and costliest that could be 
procured. 

One of the principal uses to which the goat-skin was applied 
was the manufacture of leather, for which purpose it is still 
used, and is considered far better than that of the sheep. 
Perhaps the most common form in which this leather is used 
is the well-known water-vessel, or " bottle " of the Bible. 

These so-called bottles are made from the entire skin of the 
animal, which is prepared in slightly different methods according 
to the locality in which the manufacture is carried on. In 
Palestine they are soaked for some little time in the tanning 
mixture, and are then filled with water, after the seams have 
been pitched. In this state they are kept for some time, and 
are kept exposed to the sun, covered entirely with the tanning 
fluid, and filled up with water to supply the loss caused by 
evaporation and leakage. 

The hair is allowed to remain on the skins, because it acts as 
a preservative against the rough usage to which they are subject 
at the hard hands of the water-carriers. By degrees the hairy 
covering wears off, first in patches, and then over the entire 
surface, so that a new bottle can be recognised at a glance, and 
any one who wished to sell an old bottle at the price of a new- 
one w r ould be at once detected. 

Vessels made in this rude manner are absolutely necessary in 
the countries wherein they are used. Wooden or metal vessels 
would be too heavy, and, besides, the slight though constant 
evaporation that always takes place through the pores of the 
leather keeps down the temperature of the water, even under a 
burning sun, the slight loss which is caused by the porousness of 
the skin being more than, counterbalanced by the coolness of the 



THE GOAT. 193 

water. It is true that the goat-skin communicates to the liquid 
a flavour far from pleasant, but in those countries the quality of 
the water is of little consequence, provided that it is plentiful in 
quantity, and tolerably cool. 

Even in our own country, leathern drinking-cups are sometimes 
used, and all who have taken any interest in antiquarian manners 
are familiar with the " leather bottle " and the " black-jack," 
the former only surviving in museums and as signs to public- 
houses, though the latter has within the memory of the present 
generation been in common use. Leathern bottles are still used 
in the Turkish army, and I have in my collection one of these 
water-bottles, which is practically the same article as the " bottle" 
of Scripture, though it is of comparatively small size, and is 
made with some attempt at elegance of form. 

In all parts of the world where the skin is used for this 
purpose the mode of manufacture is practically identical. An 
account of the art of preparing the goat-skin as practised in 
Abyssinia is given by Mr. C. Johnston, in his "Travels in 
Southern Abyssinia : " — 

" To be of any value it must be taken off uncut, except around 
the neck, and in those situations necessary to enable the butchers 
to draw the legs out of the skin ; also, of course, where the first 
incision is made to commence the process, and which is a circular 
cut carried around both haunches, not many inches from and 
having the tail for a centre. The hide is then stripped over the 
thighs, and two smaller incisions being made round the middle 
joint of the hind-legs enable them to be drawn out. 

" A stick is now placed to extend these extremities, and by 
this, for the convenience of the operators, the whole carcase is 
suspended from the branch of a tree, and, by some easy pulls 
around the body, the skin is gradually withdrawn over the fore- 
legs, which are incised around the knees, to admit of their being 
taken out ; after which, the head being removed, the whole busi- 
ness concludes by the skin being pulled inside out over the 
decollated neck. One of the parties now takes a rough stone 
and well rubs the inside surface, to divest it of a few fibres of 
the subcutaneous muscle which are inserted into the skin, and 
after this operation it is laid aside until the next day ; the more 
interesting business of attending to the meat calling for imme- 
diate attention. 
H 



194 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" These entire skins are afterwards made into sacks by the 
apertures around the neck and legs heing secured by a double 
fold of the skin being sewed upon each other, by means of a 
slender but very tough thong. These small seams are rendered 
quite air-tight, and the larger orifice around the haunches being 
gathered together by the hands, the yet raw skin is distended 
with air ; and the orifice being then tied up, the swollen bag is 
left in that state for a few days, until slight putrefaction has 
commenced, when the application of the rough stone soon divests 
its surface of the hair. After this has been effected, a deal of 
labour, during at least one day, is required to soften the distended 
skin by beating it with heavy sticks, or trampling upon it for 
hours together, the labourer supporting himself by clinging to 
the bough of a tree overhead, or holding on by the wall of the 
house. 

" In this manner, whilst the skin is drying, it is prevented 
from getting stiff, and, still further to secure it from this evil 
condition, it is frequently rubbed with small quantities of butter. 
When it is supposed that there is no chance of the skin becoming 
hard and easily broken, the orifice is opened, the air escapes, and 
a very soft, flaccid leather bag is produced, but which, for several 
days after, affords an amusement to the owner, when otherwise 
unemployed, by well rubbing it all over with his hands." 

The reader will see that the two processes are practically 
identical, the chief difference being that in one country the skins 
are distended with water and in the other with air. 

As these bottles are rather apt to be damaged by the thorns, 
branches, rocks, and similar objects with which they come in 
contact, and are much too valuable to be thrown away as useless, 
their owners have discovered methods of patching and repairing 
them, which enable them to be used for some time longer. 
Patches of considerable size are sometimes inserted, if the rent 
should be of importance, while the wound caused by a thorn is 
mended by a simple and efficacious expedient. The skin is first 
emptied, and a round flat piece of wood, or even a stone of 
suitable shape, is put into it. The skin is then held with the 
wounded part downwards, and the stone shaken about until it 
comes exactly upon the hole. It is then grasped, the still wet 
hide gathered tightly under it, so as to pucker up the skin, and 
a ligature is tied firmly round it. Perhaps some of my readers 



THE GOAT. 196 

may have practised the same method of mending a punctured 
football. 

Allusion to this mode of mending the skin bottles is made in 
Josh. ix. 4, 13. The Gibeonites " did work wilily, and went and 
made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon 
their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up . . . and 
said . . . these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new ; and, 
behold, they be rent." 

If these skin bottles be allowed to become dry, as is some- 
times the case when they are hung up in the smoky tents, they 
shrivel up, and become rotten and weak, and are no longer 
enabled to bear the pressure caused by the fermentation of new 
wine. So, in Ps. cxix. 81 — 83 : " My soul fainteth for Thy sal- 
vation : but I hope in Thy word. 

" Mine eyes fail for Thy word, saying, When wilt Thou com- 
fort me ? 

" For I am become like a bottle in the smoke \ yet do I not 
forget Thy statutes." 

How forcible does not this image become, when we realize the 
early life of the shepherd poet, his dwelling in tents wherein are 
no windows nor chimneys, and in which the smoke rolls to and 
fro until it settles in the form of soot upon the leathern bottles 
and othei rude articles of furniture that are hung from the 
poles ! 

In the New Testament there is a well-known allusion to the 
weakness of old bottles : " Neither do men put new wine into 
old bottles, or the bottles break and the wine runneth out, and 
the bottles perish ; but they put new wine into new bottles, and 
both are preserved." It would be impossible to understand the 
meaning of this passage unless we knew that the " bottles " in 
question were not vessels of glass or earthenware, but merely 
the partly-tanned skins of goats. 

Another allusion to the use of the goat-skin is made in that 
part of the Book of Joshua which has already been mentioned. 
If the reader will refer to Josh. ix. 4, he will see that the 
Gibeonites took with them not only old bottles, but old sacks. 
Now, these sacks bore no resemblance to the hempen bags with 
which we are so familiar, but were nothing more than the same 
goat-skins that were employed in the manufacture of bottles, but 
with the opening at the neck left open. They were, in fact, 



196 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

skin-bottles for holding solids instead of liquids. The sacks 
which Joseph's brethren took with them, and in the mouths of 
which they found their money, were simply goat-skin bags, made 
as described. 

Yet another use for the goat-skin. It is almost certain that 
the " kneadiug-troughs " of the ancient Israelites were simply 
circular pieces of goat-skin, which could be laid on the ground 
when wanted, and rolled up and carried away when out of use. 
Thus, the fact that " the people took their dough before it was 
leavened, their kneading-t roughs being bound up in their clothing 
upon their shoulders/' need cause no surprise. 

Nothing could be more in accordance with probability. The 
women were all hard at work, preparing the bread for the expected 
journey, when the terrified Pharaoh " called for Moses and Aaron 
by night, and said, Eise up, and get you forth from among my 
people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go, serve the 
Lord, as ye have said. . . . And the Egyptians were urgent upon 
the people that they might send theiu out of the land in haste ; 
for they said, We be all dead men." 

So the women, being disturbed at their work, and being driven 
out of the country before they had leavened, much less baked, 
their bread, had no alternative but to roll up the dough in the 
leathern " kneading-troughs," tie them up in a bundle with their 
spare clothing, and carry them on their shoulders ; whereas, if 
we connect the kneading-troughs with the large heavy wooden 
implements used in this country, we shall form an entirely 
erroneous idea of the proceeding. As soon as they came to their 
first halting-place at Succoth, they took the leathern kneading- 
troughs out of their clothes, unrolled them, took the dough 
which had not even been leavened, so unexpectedly had the order 
for march in arrived, made it into flat cakes, and baked them 
as they best could. The same kind of " kneading-trough " is 
still in use in many parts of the world. 

Stone as well as earthenware jars were also used by the 
inhabitants of ancient Palestine ; but they were only employed 
for the storage of wine in houses, whereas the bottles that were 
used in carrying wine from one place to another were invariably 
made of leather. Water also was stored in stone or earthenware 
jars. See, for example, John ii. 6 : " And there were set there 
six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the 



THE GOAT. 197 

Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece." "Whereas, when 
it was carried about, it was poured into bottles made of skin. 
Such was probably the " bottle of water" that Abraham put 
on Hagar's shoulder, when she was driven away by the jealousy 
of Sarah. Such was the " bottle of wine" that Hannah brought 
as her offering when she dedicated Samuel to the service of God ; 
and such was the " bottle of milk " that Jael opened for Sisera 
when he came to her tent. Even oil is carried in these bottles, 
which are certainly better adapted to the backs of mules, which 
are the usual beasts of burden, than they would be if they were 
made of glass or earthenware. 

The Rabbinical writers have much to say upon the Goat ; but 
as the greater part of their observations and directions are with- 
out any general interest, only a few will be selected from them. 

Knowing the great strength of the Goat of their own days, 
they exaggerate the power of those w 7 hich belonged to the 
ancients. Job's he-goats, for example, are said to have been so 
strong and fierce that they could conquer wolves, while some 
were so powerful that they carried bears upon their horns. They 
also were accustomed to climb rocks, dig up roots, and bring 
them down in their mouths. 

The milk of the w T hite Goat is useful medicinally for affections 
of the lungs, and the spleen of a female kid for diseases of the 
spleen. But if Goats are allowed to drink of the water in which 
blacksmiths cool their iron, the spleen gradually withers away, 
and at last disappears altogether. If the owner should desire to 
fatten a she-goat, he ought to tie up the udders so tightly that 
the milk cannot come into them, and the nourishment is there- 
fore converted into fat instead of milk. Also, he should take 
care to keep his Goats away from the place where bread is being 
made, as they are very fond of the unbaked dough, and always 
die if they eat it. 

In sacrifices, the Goat was in nearly as much requisition ai. 
the lamb, and in one — namely, that which was celebrated on the 
Great Day of Atonement — the Goat was specially mentioned as 
the only animal which could be sacrificed. The reader will, 
perhaps, remember that for this peculiar sacrifice two Goats were 
required, on which two lots were cast, one for the Lord, i. e. with 
the word "Jehovah" upon it, and the other for the scapegoat. 



198 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

i.e. inscribed with the word " Azazel." The latter term is derived 
from two Hebrew words, the former being " Az," which is the 
general name for the Goat, and the second " azel," signifying " he 
departed." The former, which belonged to Jehovah, wns sacri- 
ficed, and its blood sprinkled upon the mercy-seat and the altar of 
incense ; and the Goat Azazel was led away into the wilderness, 
bearing upon its head the sins of the people, and there let 
loose. 

These being the uses of the Goat, it may naturally be imagined 
that the animal is one of extreme importance, and that it is 
watched as carefully by its owners as the sheep. Indeed, both 
sheep and Goats belong to the same master, and are tended by 
the same shepherd, who exercises the same sway over them that 
he does over the sheep. 

They are, however, erratic animals, and, although they will 
follow the shepherd wherever he may lead them, they will not 
mix with the sheep. The latter will walk in a compact flock 
along the valley, the shepherd leading the way, and the sheep 
following him, led in their turn by the sound of the bell tied 
round the neck of the master-ram of the flock. The Goats, 
however, will not submit to walk in so quiet a manner, but pre- 
fer to climb along the sides of the rocks that skirt the valleys, 
skipping and jumping as they go, and seeming to take delight 
in getting themselves into dangerous places, where a man could 
not venture to set his foot. 

In the evening, when the shepherds call their flocks to repose, 
they often make use of the caverns which exist at some height 
in the precipitous side of the hills, as being safe strongholds, 
where the jackal and the hysena will not venture to attack them. 
When such is the case, the shepherds take their station by the 
mouth of the cave, and assist the sheep as they come sedately 
up the narrow path that leads to the cavern. The Goats, how- 
ever, need no assistance, but come scrambling along by paths 
where no foot but a Goat's could tread, mostly descending from a 
considerable height above the cave, and, as if in exultation at 
their superior agility, jumping over the backs of the sheep as 
they slowly file into the accustomed fold. 

Friendly as they are, the Goats and sheep never minglo 
together. There may be large flocks of them feeding in the same 



THE GOAT. 



11)U 



pasturage, but the Goats always take the highest spots ou which 
verdure grows, while the sheep graze quietly below. Goats are 
specially fond of the tender shoots of trees, which they find in 
plenty upon the mountain side ; and, according to Mr. Tristram, 




QOATS ON THE MARCI1. 

" A* a shepherd dioideth the ahnp from the goats."— \\ a n xxv. b'2. 



by their continual browsing, they have extirpated many species 
of trees which were once common on the hills of Palestine, and 
which now can only be found in Lebanon on the east of the 
Jordan. 

Even when folded together in the same enclosure, the Goats 
never mix with the sheep, but gather together by themselves, 
and they instinctively take the same order when assemble 
round the wells at mid-day. 



200 HIBLE ANIMALS. 

This instinctive separation of the sheep and the goats naturally 
recalls to our minds the well-known saying of our Lord that 
" before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate 
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
the goats : and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and 
the goats on His left." 

The image thus used was one that was familiar to all the 
bearers, who were accustomed daily to see the herds of sheep 
and Goats under one shepherd, yet totally distinct from each other. 
At feeding-time the Goats will be browsing in long lines on the 
mountain sides, while the sheep are grazing in the plain or 
valley ; at mid-day, when the flocks are gathered round the wells 
to await the rolling away of the stone that guards the water, the 
Goats assemble on one side and the sheep on the other. And 
at night, when they are all gathered into one fold by one shep- 
herd, they are still separated from each other. The same image 
is employed by the prophet Ezekiel : " As for you, my flock, 
thus said the Lord God, Behold I judge between cattle and 
cattle, between rams and the he-goats.' 

Generally, the leading Goat was distinguished by a bell as 
well as the leading sheep, and in reference to this custom there 
was an old proverb, " If the shepherd takes the lead, he blinds 
the bell-goat," while another proverb is based upon the inferior 
docility of the animal — " If the shepherd be lame, the Goats 
will run away." 

Yet the Goat can be tamed very effectively, and can even be 
taught to perform many tricks. " We saw just below us, on the 
rudely-constructed ' parade,' a crowd of men and children, sur- 
rounding a fantastically-dressed man exhibiting a Goat, which 
had been tutored to perform some cunning trick. It stood with 
its four feet close together on the top of a very long pole, and 
allowed the man to lift it up and carry it round and round 
within the circle ; then the Goat was perched on four sticks, and 
again carried about. A little band of music — pipes, drums, and 
tambourines — called together the people from all parts of the 
town to witness this performance. 

"The Goat danced and balanced himself obediently and per- 
fectly, in very unnatural-looking positions, as if thoroughly 
understanding the words and commands of his master. The 
men who watched the actions of the Goat looked as grave and 



THE GOAT. 201 

serious as if they were attending a philosophical or scientific 
lecture." (" Domestic Life in Palestine," by Miss Rogers.) 

Another feat is a favourite with the proprietors of trained 
Goats. The man takes a stool and plants it carefully on the 
ground, so as to be perfectly level, and then orders the Goat to 
stand upon it, A piece of wood about six inches in length, and 
shaped something like a dice-box, is then placed on the stool, 
and the Goat manages to stand on it, all his sharp, hard hoofs 
being pressed closely together on the tiny surface. The man 
then takes another piece of wood and holds it to the Goat's feet. 
The animal gently removes first one foot and then another, and, 
by careful shifting of the feet, enables its master to place the 
second piece of wood on the first. Successive additions are- 
made, until at the last the Goat is perched on the topmost of 
some nine or ten pieces of wood balanced on each other, the 
whole looking like a stout reed marked off with joints. 

The stately steps and bold bearing of the old he-goat is 
mentioned in the Proverbs : " There be three things which go 
well, yea, four are comely in going : 

"A lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not 
away for any ; 

" A greyhound ; an he-goat also ; and a king, against whom 
there is no rising up." (Prov. xxx. 29-31.) The word which is 
here rendered as he-goat signifies literally the "Butter," and is 
given to the animal on account of the mode in which it uses its 
formidable horns. The word is not common in the Bible, but it 
is used even at the present day among the Arabs. 

Several herds of goats exist in Palestine, the most valuable of 
which is the Mohair Goat, and the most common the Syrian 
Goat. These, however dissimilar they may be in appearance, 
are only varieties of the ordinary domestic animal, the former 
being produced artificially by carefully selecting those specimens 
for breeding which have the longest and finest hair. It was from 
the hair of this breed that the costly fabrics used in the Taber- 
nacle were woven, and it is probably to this breed that reference 
is made in Solomon's Song, iv. J, 2: "Behold, thou art fair, 
my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy 
locks : thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Mount 
Gilead. 

" Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which 



202 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

came up from the washing." In this passage the careful reader 
will also note another reference to the habits of the Goats and 
sheep, the hair being compared to the dark-haired Goats that 
wander on the tops of the hills, while the teeth are compared to 
sheep that are ranged in regular order below. The Mohair Goat 
is known scientifically as Capra Angorensis. The same image is 
used again in chap. vi. 5. 

The second breed is that which is commonest throughout the 
country. It is known by the name of the Syrian Goat, and is 
remarkable for the enormous length of its ears, which sometimes 
exceed a foot from root to tip. This variety has been described 
as a separate species under the name of Capra Alambrica, or 
C. Syriaca, but, like the Mohair Goat, and twenty-three other 
so-called species, is simply a variety of the common Goat, Hircus 
cegragus. 

Eeference is made to the long ears of the Syrian Goat in 
Amos iii. 12: "Thus saith the Lord: As the shepherd taketh 
out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear ; so 
shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria/' 
Such a scene, which was familiar to Amos, the shepherd as 
well as the prophet, is represented in the illustration. In the 
foreground is the goat on which the lion has sprung, and from 
which one of the long ears has been torn away. Its companions 
are gathering round it in sympathy, while its kid is trying to 
discover the cause of its mother's uneasiness. In the background 
is a group of armed shepherds, standing round the lion which 
they have just killed, while one of them is holding up the torn 
ear which he has taken out of the lion's mouth. 








THE GOAT. 
*As the shepherd taketn out of the mouth of the lion a ploce of an e ir."— Amos HI. 12. 



THE WILD GOAT. 

The Azclim or Wild Goats of Scripture identical with the Beden or Arabian Ibex- 
Different names of the Beden — Its appearance and general habits — En-gedi, or 
Goats' Fountain — The Beden formerly very plentiful in Palestine, and now 
tolerably common — Its agility Difficulty of catching or killing it — How the 
young are captured — Flesh of the Beden — Use of the horns at the present day 
— The Ako of Deuteronomy. 

In three passages of the Old Testament occurs a word, " Azelim," 
which is variously translated in our Authorized Version. 

It is first seen in 1 Sam. xxiv. 2, in which it is rendered as 
" Wild Goats." " It was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is in 
the wilderness of En-gedi [i.e. the Fountain of the Goat]. Then 
Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went 
to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats 
(azelim)." The same word occurs in Job xxxix. 1 : " Knowest 
thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth ? " 
It is also found in Ps. civ. 18 : " The high hills are a refuge for 
the wild goats." In all these passages it is rendered as " wild 
goats." But, in Prov. v. 19, it is translated as roe: "Rejoice 
with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and 
pleasant roe (azelah)." The Jewish Bible follows the same 
diverse renderings. 

We now have to discover the animal which was signified by 
the word Azel. According to its etymology, it is the Climber, 
just as the adult he-goat is called the Butter. 

That it was a climbing animal is evident from its name, and 
that it loved to clamber among precipices is equally evident 
from the repeated connexion of the word rock with the name of 
the animal. We also see, from the passage in Job, that it is a 
wild animal whose habits were not known. There is scarcely 
any doubt that the Azel of the Old Testament is the Arabian 
Ibex or Beden [Capra Nubiana). This animal is very closely 
allied to the well-known Ibex of the Alps, or Steinbock, but 
may be distinguished from it by one or two slight differences, 



204 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

such as the black beard and the slighter make of the horns, 
which moreover have three angles instead of four, as is the case 
with the Alpine Ibex. 

The Beden is known by several names. It is sometimes 
called the Jaela, sometimes the Nubian Wild Goat, and is also 
known as the Wild Goat of Sinai. The general colour of the 
Beden is grey, becoming brownish in winter, and being whitish 
grey beneath. The feet are spotted with black and white, and 
the beard of the male is black, differing from that of the Alpine 
Ibex, which is brown. The female is beardless. The lines along 
the back and the sides of the tail are black, and there are three 
streaks on each ear. 

The Beden generally lives in little herds of eight or ten, and 
is even now to be found in Palestine. At the strange, wild, 
weird-looking En-gedi (A in Jiddy), or Fountain of the Goats, 
the Beden is still to be seen. Mr. Tristram su^ests that David 
and his followers took up their residence at En-gedi for the sake 
of the Wild Goats that were plentiful upon the spot, and which 
would furnish food for himself and his hardy band of outlaws. 
" In the neighbourhood of En-gedi," remarks this traveller, 
" while encamped by the Dead Sea shore, we obtained several 
fine specimens, and very interesting it was to find the graceful 
creature by the very fountain to which it gave name. 

" When clambering over the heights above En-gedi, I often, 
by the help of my glass, saw the Ibex from a distance, and once, 
when near Mar-saba, only a few miles from Jerusalem, started 
one at a distance of four hundred yards. At the south end of 
the Dead Sea they were common, and I have picked up a horn 
both near Jericho on the hills and also on the hills of Moab on 
the eastern side. At Jericho, too, I obtained a young one which 
I hoped to rear, but which died after I had had it for ten days, 
owing, I believe, to the milk with which it was fed being sour. 
Further north and west we did not find it, though I have reason 
to believe that a few linger on the mountains between Samaria 
and the Jordan, and perhaps also on some of the spurs of 
Lebanon. We found its teeth in the breccia of bone occurring in 
the Lebanon, proving its former abundance there." 

As the Beden was found so plentifully even in these days 
when fire-arms have rendered many wild animals scarce and 
wary, so that they will not show themselves within range of a 



THE WILD GOAT. 205 

bullet, it is evident that in the time when David lived at En-gedi 
and drank of the Goats' Fountain they were far more numerous, 
and could afford nourishment to him and his soldiers. Travellers, 
moreover, who do not happen to be experienced hunters, will 
often fail in seeing the Beden, even in places where it is tolerably 
plentiful. The colour of its coat resembles so nearly that of the 
rocks, that an inexperienced eye would see nothing but bare 
stones and sticks where a practised hunter would see numbers 
of Beden, conspicuous by their beautifully curved horns. 

The agility of the Beden is extraordinary. Loving the highest 
and most craggy parts of the mountain ridge, it flings itself from 
spot to spot with a recklessness that startles one who has not 
been accustomed to the animal, and the wonderful certainty of 
its foot. It will, for example, dash at the face of a perpendicular 
precipice that looks as smooth as a brick wall, for the purpose 
of reaching a tiny ledge which is hardly perceptible, and which 
is some fifteen feet or so above the spot whence the animal 
sprang. Its eye, however, has marked certain little cracks and 
projections on the face of the rock, and as the animal makes its 
leap, it takes these little points of vantage in rapid succession, 
just touching them as it passes upwards, and by the slight stroke 
of its foot keeping up the original impulse of its leap. Similarly, 
the Ibex comes sliding and leaping down precipitous sides of 
the mountains, sometimes halting with all the four feet drawn 
together, on a little projection scarcely larger than a penny, and 
sometimes springing boldly over a wide crevasse, and alighting 
with exact precision upon a projecting piece of rock that seems 
scarcely large enough to sustain a rat comfortably. 

The young of the Ibex are sometimes captured and tamed. 
They are, however, difficult to rear, and give much more trouble 
than the young gazelles when taken in a similar manner. The 
natives can generally procure the kids at the proper time of 
year, and sell them at a very cheap rate. They seldom, however, 
can be reared, and even those who live in the country experience 
the greatest difficulty in keeping the young Beden alive until 
it attains maturity. 

Were it not for the curious habits of the Beden, the young 
could scarcely ever be obtained alive, as they are so agile that 
they could easily leap away from their slow two-legged pursuers. 
But the mother Ibex has a habit of leading a very independent 



206 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



life, wandering to considerable distances, and leaving her kid 
snugly hidden in some rock-cleft. The hunters watch the 
mother as she starts off in the morning, clamber up to the 
spot where the kid is concealed, and secure it without difficulty. 
The Arabs say that there are always two kids at a birth, but 



i 



; 5«®«v 




ARABIAN IBEX, OR BEDEN ; THE WILD GOAT OK SCRIPTURE. 

" The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats."— Psai.m cxiv. IS. 



there is considerable discrepancy of evidence on this point, 
which, after all, is of very little importance. 

The tiesh of the Beden is really excellent. It is far superior 
to that of the gazelle, which is comparatively dry and hard, and 
it has been happily suggested that the Beden was the animal in 
search of which Esau was sent to hunt with his quiver and his 
bow, and which furnished the "savoury meat" which Isaac 



THE WILD GOAT. 207 

loved. None but a true hunter can hope to secure the Beden, 
and even all the knowledge, patience, and energy of the best 
hunters are tried before they can kill their prey. It was there- 
fore no matter of wonder that Isaac should be surprised when 
he thought that he heard Esau return so soon from the hunting- 
grounds. " How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my 
son ? " 

There are few animals more wary than the Beden, and even 
the chamois ot the Alps does not exercise the finest qualities of 
a hunter rnor^. than does the Beden of Palestine. It is gifted 
with very keen eyes, which can discern the approach of an 
enemy long before its grey coat and curved horns can be dis- 
tinguished from the stones and gnarled boughs of the mountain 
side. And, even if the enemy be not within range of the animal's 
sight, its nostrils are so keen that it can detect a man by scent 
alone at a considerable distance. Like all gregarious animals, 
the Beden insures the safety of the flock by stationing sentries, 
which are posted on places that command the whole surrounding 
country, and to deceive the watchful senses of these wary 
guardians tests all the qualities of the hunter. 

The dawn of day is the time that is generally chosen to: 
approaching a herd, because the animals are then feeding, and 
if the hunter can manage to approach them against the wind, he 
may chance to come within range. Should however the wind 
change its direction, he may quietly walk home again, for at the 
first breath of the tainted gale the sentinels utter their shrill 
whistle of alarm, and the whole party dash off with a speed that 
renders pursuit useless. 

The horns of the Beden are of very great size, and from their 
bold curves, with the large rings and ridges which cover their 
front, are remarkably handsome objects. In their own country 
they are in great request as handles to knives, and even in 
England they may be occasionally seen serving as handles 
to carving-knives and forks. 

As to the word Ako, which occurs in Deut. xiv. 5, together 
with other animals, and is rendered as "Wild Goat," there is 
so much doubt about the correct translation that I can do no 
more than mention that the Jewish Bible follows our authorized 
edition in translating Ako as Wild Goat, but adds the doubtful 
mark to the word. 



2U8 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE DEER. 

The Hart and Hind of Scripture — Species of Deer existing in Palestine — Earliest 
mention of the Hind — The Hart classed among the clean animals — Passages 
alluding to its speed — Care of the mother for her young, and her custom of 
secreting it — Tameable character of the Deer — The Rabbinical writers and 
their theories— Shedding of the Deer's horns— Its fabled mode of sleeping — 
The gal] in the tail — Curious traditions of the enmity between Deer and 
serpents— Virtues of a Deer-skin coat. 

We now come to the Deer which are mentioned in Scripture. 
There are not many passages in which they are mentioned, and 
one of them is rather doubtful, as we shall see when we come 
to it. 

There is no doubt that the two words Hakt and Hind (in the 
Hebrew Ayzal and Ayzalah) represent Deer of some kind, and 
the question is to find out what kind of Deer is signified by 
these words. I think that we may safely determine that no 
particular species is meant, but that under the word Ayzal are 
comprehended any kinds of Deer that inhabit Palestine, and 
were likely to be known to those to whom the earlier Scriptures 
were addressed. That some kind of Deer was plentiful is evi- 
dent from the references which are made to it, and specially by 
the familiar word Ajala or Ayala, as it is pronounced, which 
signifies the Deer-ground or pasture. But the attempt to dis- 
criminate between one species and another is simply impossible, 
and the more careful the search the more impracticable the task 
appears. 

As far as can be ascertained, at least two kinds of Deer inha- 
bited Palestine in the earlier days of the Jewish history, one 
belonging to the division which is known by its branched 
horns, and the other to that in which the horns are flat or pal- 
mated over the tips. Examples of both kinds are familiar to us 
under the titles of the Red Deer and the Fallow Deer, and it 
is tolerably certain that both these animals were formerly found 



THE DEER. 



209 



in Palestine, or that at all events the Deer which did exist then 
were so closely allied to them as to be mere varieties occasioned 
by the different conditions in which they were placed. 

We will now proceed to the various passages in which th< 
Hart and Hind are meutioned in the Bible. 







mmmmm 



FALLOW-DEER, OR HIND OF SCRIPTURE. 

/ charge you . . . by the hinds of the field." — Cant. ii. 7. 



As might be expected, we come upon it among the number of 
the beasts which divided the hoof and chewed the cud, and 
were specially indicated as fit for food: see Deut. xii. 15: 
"Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates. 
. . . . the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roe- 
buck, and as of the hart." 

There is, however, an earlier mention of the word in Gen. 
vlix. 21. It occurs in that splendid series of imagery in whiclt 
15 



210 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Jacob blesses his sons, and prophesies their future, each image 
serving ever afterwards as the emblem of the tribe : " Naphtali 
is a hind let loose : he giveth goodly words ; " — or, according to 
the Jewish Bible, " Naphtali is a hind sent forth : he giveth 
sayings of pleasantness." Now, such an image as this would 
never have been used, had not the spectacle of the "hind let 
loose" been perfectly familiar to the eyes both of the dying 
patriarch and his hearers, and equally so with the lion, the ass, 
the vine, the serpent, and other objects used emblematically in 
the same prophetic poem. 

The excellence of the Hart's flesh is shown by its occurrence 
among the animals used for King Solomon's table : see 1 Kings 
iv. 23, a passage which has been quoted several times, and 
therefore need only be mentioned. 

Allusion is made to the speed and agility of the Deer in 
several passages. See, for example, Isa. xxxv. 6 : " Then shall 
the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb 
sing." Again, in 2 Sam. xxii. 33, 34 : " God is my strength and 
power : and He maketh my way perfect. 

" He maketh my feet like hinds' feet : and setteth me upon 
my high places." 

Nearly four hundred years afterwards we find Habakkuk 
using precisely the same image, evidently quoting David's Psalm 
of Thanksgiving : — " Yet I will rejoice m the Lord, 1 will joy in 
the God of my salvation. 

" The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet 
like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high 
places." (iii. 18, 19.) 

A passage of a similar character may be found in Solomon's 
Song, ii. 8, 9 : " The voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh 
leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 

" My beloved is like a roe or a young hart." 

There is one passage in the Psalms which is familiar to us in 
many ways, and nut the least in that it has been chosen as the 
text for so many well-known anthems. "As the hart panteth 
after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, God. 

" My .soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when shall 1 
come and appear before God ? " (Ps. xlii. 1, 2.) 

Beautiful as this passage is, it cannot be fully understood 
without the context. 



THE DEER. 211 

David wrote this psalm before he had risen to royal power, 
and while he was fleeing from his enemies from place to place, 
and seeking an uncertain shelter in the rock-caves. In verse 6 
he enumerates some of the spots in which he has been forced to 
reside, far away from the altar, the priests, and the sacrifice. 
He has been hunted about from place to place by his enemies 
as a stag is hunted by the hounds, and his very soul thirsted 
for the distant Tabernacle, in which the Shekinah, the visible 
presence of God, rested on the mercy-seat between the golden 
cherubim. 

Wild and unsettled as was the early life of David, this was 
ever the reigning thought in his mind, and there is scarcely a 
psalm that he wrote in which w 7 e do not find some allusion 
to the visible presence of God among men. Ko matter what 
might be the troubles through which he had to pass, even 
though he trod the valley of the shadow of death, the thought 
of his God was soothing as water to the hunted stag, and in 
that thought he ever found repose Through all his many trials 
and adversities, through his deep remorse for his sins, through 
his wounded paternal affections, through his success and pro- 
sperity, that one thought is the ruling power. He begins his 
career with it when he opposed Goliath : " Thou comest to me 
with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield : but I come 
to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies 
of Israel." He closes his career with the same thought, and, in 
the " last words " that are recorded, he charged his son to keep 
the commandments of the Lord, that he might do wisely all that 
he did. 

We now come to another point in the Deer's character ; 
namely, the watchful care of the mother over her young. She 
always retires to some secret place when she instinctively 
knows that the birth is at hand, and she hides it from all eyes 
until it is able to take care of itself. By some strange instinct, 
the little one, almost as soon as it is born, is able to comprehend 
the signals of its mother, and there is an instance, well known 
to naturalists, where a newly- born Deer, hardly an hour ol'd, 
crouched low to the earth in obedience to a light tap on its 
shoulder from its mother's hoof. She, with the intense watch- 
fulness of her kind, had seen a possible danger, and so warned 
her young one to hide itsel£ 



212 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

There is scarcely any animal so watchful as the female Deer, 
as all hunters know by practical experience. It is comparatively 
easy to deceive the stag who leads the herd, but to evade the 
eyes and ears of the hinds is a very different business, and 
taxes all the resources of a practised hunter. If they take such 
care of the herd in general, it may be imagined that their 
watchfulness would be multiplied tenfold when the object of 
their anxiety is their own young. 

It is in allusion to this well-known characteristic that a 
passage in the Book of Job refers : " Knowest thou the time 
when the wild goats of the rock bring forth ? or canst thou mark 
when the hinds do calve?" (xxxix. 1.) A similar image is used 
in Psa. xxix. 9. After enumerating the wonders that are done 
by the voice of the Lord, the thunders and rain torrents. 
the devastating tempests, the forked lightning, and the earth- 
quake " that shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh," the Psalmist 
proceeds : " The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, 
and diseovereth the forests," — this being as mysterious to the 
writer as the more conspicuous wonders which he had pre- 
viously mentioned. 

So familiar to the Hebrews was the watchful care which the 
female Deer exercised over her young, that it forms the subject 
of a powerful image in one of Jeremiah's mournful prophecies : 
" Yea., the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because 
there was no grass." (xiv. 5.) To those who understand the habits 
of the animal, tins is a most telling and picturesque image. In 
the first place, the Hind, a wild animal that could find food 
where less active creatures would starve, was reduced to such 
straits that she was obliged to remain in the fields at the time 
when her young was born, instead of retiring to some sheltered 
spot, according to her custom. And when it was born, instead 
of nurturing it carefully, according to the natural maternal 
instinct, she was forced from sheer hunger to abandon it in 
order to find a sufficiency of food for herself. 

That the Deer could be tamed, and its naturally affectionate 
disposition cultivated, is evident from a passage in the Proverbs 
(v. 18, 19) : "Let thy fountain be blessed : and rejoice with the 
wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant 
roe." 

We might naturally expect that the Rabbinical writers would 




THE liED DEER. 
C;inst ibuu mark when the hinds do calve?" — Ion x.vxix. 



THE DEER. 213 

have much to say on the subject of the Hart and Hind. Among 
much that is irrelevant to the object of the present work there 
are a few passages that deserve mention. Alluding to the 
annual shedding of the Deer's horns, there is a proverb respect- 
ing one who ventures his money too freely in trade, that " he has 
hung it on the stag's horns," meaning thereby that he will never 
see it again. It is remarkable that in Western Africa there is a 
proverb of a similar character, the imprudent merchant being 
told to look for his money in the place where Deer shed their 
horns. 

They firmly believed that goats and Deer associate freely 
with each other, and that a mixed progeny was the result, but 
some of them modify this statement by saying that this only 
holds good with the smaller kinds ot Deer, i.e. the gazelles and 
other antelopes. This absurd notion has evidently taken its 
rise from the line of long bristly hair that decorates the throat 
of the adult male, and which these unscientific writers took to 
be derived from the beard of the goat. 

On account of its watchfulness it was said always to sleep 
with one eye open, " which is well known to be the case with 
the hare." The ancient Jews used to catch it with nets, and then 
domesticate it, feeding it principally with a plant which has 
a very long and straight root, which was used by Joshua as a 
wand of office when he pointed out to the Israelites the portion 
of ground on which each tribe had to encamp. What the plant 
might have been they cannot precisely ascertain, and the loose- 
ness of their natural history may be imagined from the fact that 
some consider the plant in question to be the ivy and others 
the sugar-cane. 

Some of the Deer, says these old writers, join the herds of 
cattle, and even accompany them to their stalls for the night. 
The reason of this gentleness of disposition seems to be found 
in the position of ihe gall-bladder, which is said to be, not in 
the liver, but near the tail. It is remarkable, by the way, that 
Aristotle places it actually in the tail: "The Achaian harts 
have their gall in their tails;" while Pliny thinks that the gall 
is placed in the ears. 

The curious superstitions respecting the enmity between the 
Deer and the serpent are of very old date, and have travelled 
all over the world. They probably took their rise from the 



214 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

esoteric teachings which were hidden under the symbolism of 
animal life, and were transmitted from country to country and 
from age to age, after the manner of superstitions generally. 
According to one form of the superstition, the Deer can draw 
serpents out of their holes by breathing into them, and then 
devour them ; while, according to another form, there is such 
an enmity between the Deer and the serpent, that if even a 
portion of the Deer's horns be burned, all snakes that come 
within its influence are driven away. 

Topsell, in referring to this subject) although he feels himself 
bound to believe the tradition, accounts for it in his own quaint 
fashion. "A Hart by his nose draweth a Serpent out of her 
hole, and therefore the grammarians derived Elaphas, or Hart, 
from elaunein tous opheis, that is, of driving away serpents. 

" I cannot consent to the opinion of uElianus, that affirmeth 
the Serpents to follow the breath of a Hart like some philter, or 
amorous cup : for, seeing that all authors hold a hostility in 
natures betwixt them, it is not probable that the Serpent 
lovcth the breath of a beast unto whose whole body he is an 
enemy with a perpetual antipathy. And if any reply that the 
warm breath of an Hart is acceptable to the cold Serpent, and 
that therefore she followeth it as a dog creepeth to the fire, or 
as other beasts to the beams of the sun, I will not greatly gain- 
say it., seeing by that means it is most clear that the breath doth 
not by any secret force or vertue extract and draw her out of 
the den, but rather the concomitant quality of heat, which is not 
from the secret fire in the bones of the Hart's throat (as Pliny 
hath taught), but rather from her ordinary expiration, inspira- 
tion, and respiration. For it cannot be, that seeing all the parts 
of a Serpent are opposite to a Hart, that there should be any 
Love to that which killeth her. 

" For my opinion, I think that the manner of the Hart's 
drawing the Serpent out of her den is not, as jElianus and Pliny 
affirmeth, by sending into the cave a warm breath, which 
burnetii and scorcheth the beast out of her den, but rather, when 
the Hart hath found the Serpent's nest, she draweth the air by 
secret and violent attraction out from the Serpent, who, to save 
her life, followeth the air out of her den. As where a vessel is 
broached or wrecked, the wine followeth the flying air; and as 
a cupping-glass draweth blood out of a scarified place of the 



THE DEER. 215 

body, so the Serpent is drawn unwillingly to follow her destroyer, 
and not willingly, as jElianus afhrmeth. The Serpent being thus 
drawn forth, addeth greater force to her poyson, whereupon the 
proverbial admonition did arise, ' Beware thou meet not with a 
Serpent drawn out of her hole by the breath of a Hart, for at 
that time, by reason of her wrath, her poyson is more vehe- 
ment.' After the self-same manner do the Sea-rams draw the 
Sea-calves hid in the subterranean rocks, for by smelling they 
prevent the air that should come into them for refrigeration." 

In consequence of this antipathy, travellers were accustomed 
to wear dresses made of deer-skin, because no serpent would 
dare to bite any one who wore such armour. The timidity of 
the Deer was attributed by these strange old authors to the 
great size of its heart, in which they thought was a bone shaped 
like a cross. 

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that in one 
passage the word which is translated as " Hart " is rendered 
differently in some versions. This passage occurs in Lam. i. 6 : 
•' And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed : 
her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they 
are gone without strength before the pursuer." In some editions 
of the Hebrew Bible, the word Ayilim, i.e. "rams/' is used 
instead of Ayzalim, or " Harts," and this reading is followed both 
by the Septuagint and the Vulgate. In two editions of the 
Hebrew Bible, however, the word is Ayzalim ; and, as the Jewish 
Bible retains that reading, we cannot do wrong in accepting it as 
the correct one. 



216 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE CAMEL 



CHAPTER T. 

ihe two species of Camel, and the mode of distinguishing them - Value of the 
Camel in the East — Camels mentioned as elements of wealth — Uses of the 
Camel — The Jews forbidden to eat its flesh — The milk of the Camel — Thirst- 
enduring capability — The internal reservoir— The hump, and its use to the 
animal — The Camel as a beast of draught and burden — How the Camel is laden 
— Knowledge of its own powers — Camels for riding — Difficulty of sitting a 
Camel — A rough-paced steed — Method of guiding the Camel — The mesh'ab, 
or Camel-stick of office — The women's saddle— Rachel's stratagem — Ornaments 
of the Camel— The swift dromedary, Heirie, or Deloul — Its ungainly aspect — 
Speed and endurance of the Deloul — The Camel-posts of Bornu— Camel- 
drivers and their conduct — The driver's song — Young Camels and their 
appearance — The deserted Camel. 

Before treating of the Scriptural references to the Camel, it 
will be as well to clear the ground by noticing that two distinct 
species of Camel are known to zoologists ; namely, the common 
Camel (Camelus dromedarius), which has one hump, and the 
Bactrian Camel (Camelus Bactrianus), which has two of these 
curious projections. There is a popular but erroneous idea that 
the dromedary and the Camel are two distinct animals, the latter 
being distinguished by its huge hump, whereas the fact is, that 
the dromedary is simply a lighter and more valuable breed of 
the one-humped Camel of Arabia, the two-humped Bactrian 
Camel being altogether a different animal, inhabiting Central 
Asia, Thibet, and China. 

The Camel is still one of the most valued animals that inhabit 
Palestine, and in former times it played a part in Jewish history 
scarcely inferior to that of the ox or sheep. We shall, there- 
fore, devote some space to it. 

In some parts of the land it even exceeded in value the 
sheep, and was infinitely more useful than the goat. At the 
very beginning of Jewish history we read of this animal, and it 
is mentioned in the New Testament nearly two thousand years 



THE CAMEL. 217 

after we meet with it in the Book of Genesis. The earliest 
mention of the Camel occurs in Gen. xii. 16, where is related 
the journey of Abram : " He had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, 
and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she asses, and camels." 

Belonging, as he did, to the nomad race which lives almost 
wholly on the produce of their herds, Abram needed Camels, 
not only for their milk, and, for all we know, lor their flesh, but 
for their extreme use as beasts of burden, without which he 
could never have travelled over that wild and pathless land. 
The whole of Abram's outer life was exactly that of a Bedouin 
sheikh of the present day, in whom we find reproduced the 
habits, the tone of thought, and the very verbiage of the ancient 
Scriptures. 

Many years afterwards, when the son of his old age was 
desirous of marrying a wife of his own kindred, we find that he 
sent his trusted servants with ten of his Camels to Mesopotamia, 
and it was by the offering of water to these Camels, that Kebekah 
was selected as Isaac's wife (see Gen. xxiv. 10, 19). In after 
days, when Jacob was about to leave Laban, these animals are 
mentioned as an important part of his wealth : " And th*i man 
increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maid-servants, 
and men-servants, and camels, and asses" (Gen. xxx. 43). 
Then, in Exod. ix. 3, one of the severest plagues with which 
Egypt was afflicted was the disease which fell upon the Camels 
in common with the other cattle. 

It is thought worthy of mention in the sacred narrative that 
Job had three thousand, and afterwards six thousand Camels 
(Job i. 3, and xlii. 12) ; that the Midianites and Amalekites 
possessed " camels without number, as the sand by the sea- 
side for multitude" (Judg. vii. 12); and that the Beubenites, 
when making war against the Hagarites, took from them fifty 
thousand camels— exactly the very object of such wars in the 
same land at the present time. 

They were valuable enough to be sent as presents from one 
potentate to another. For example, when Jacob went to meet 
Esau, he gave as his present two hundred and twenty sheep, the 
same number of goats, fifty oxen, thirty asses, and sixty camels, 
i.e. thirty mothers, each with her calf. They were important 
enough to be guarded by men of position. In 1 Chron. xxvii. 30, 
we find that tt e charge of David's Camels was confided to one 



218 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



}f his officers, Obil the Ishmaelite, who, from his origin, might 
be supposed to be skilful in the management of these animals. 
Bochart, however, conjectures that the word Obil ought to be 
read as Abal, i.e. the camel -keeper, and that the passage would 
therefore read as follows : " Over the camels was an Ishmaelitish 
camel-keeper." 

We will now proceed to the uses of the Camel, and first take 
it in the light of food. 

By the Mosaic law, the Camel was a forbidden animal, be- 
cause it did not divide the hoof, although it chewed the cud. 
Yet, although the Jews might not eat its flesh, they probably 
used the milk for food, as they do at the present day. No 
distinct Scriptural reference is made to the milk of the Camel ; 
but, as the Jews of the present day are quite as fastidious as 
their ancestors in keeping the Mosaic law, we are justified in 
concluding that, although they would not eat the flesh of the 
animal, they drank its milk. At the present time, the milk is 
used, like that of the sheep, goat, and cow, both in a fresh and 
curdled state, the latter being generally preferred to the former. 
A kind of cheese is made from it, but is not much to the taste 
of the European traveller, on account of the quantity of salt 
which is put in it. Butter is churned in a very simple manner, 
the fresh milk being poured into a skin bag, and the bag beaten 
with a stick until the butter makes its appearance. 

That it was really used in the patriarchal times is evident 
by the passage which lias already been mentioned, where Jacob 
is related to have brought as a present to his brother Esau thirty 
milch Camels, together with their young. So decided a stress 
would certainly not have been laid upon the fact that the animals 
were milch Camels unless the milk were intended for use. 

Perhaps the use of the Camel's milk might be justified by 
saying that the prohibition extended only to eating and not to 
drinking, and that therefore the milk might be used though the 
flesh was prohibited. 

There was another mode in which the Camel might be used 
by travellers to sustain life. 

The reader is probably aware that, even in the burning climate 
in which it dwells, the Camel is able to go for a long time with- 
out drinking, — not that it requires less liquid nourishment than 



THE CAMEL. 219 

other animals, but that it is able, by means of its internal con- 
struction, to imbibe at one draught a quantity of water which 
will last for a considerable time. It is furnished with a series of 
cells, into which the water runs as fast as it is drunk, and in which 
it can be kept for some time without losing its life-preserving 
qualities. As much as twenty gallons have been imbibed by a 
Camel at one draught, and this amount will serve it for several 
days, as it has the power of consuming by degrees the water 
which it has drunk in a few minutes. 

This curious power of the Camel has often proved to be the 
salvation of its owner. It has often happened that, when 
travellers have been passing over the desert, their supply of 
water has been exhausted, partly by the travellers and partly by 
the burning heat which causes it to evaporate through the pores 
of the goat-skin bottle in which it was carried. Then the next 
well, where they had intended to refill their skins and refresh 
themselves, has proved dry, and the whole party seemed doomed 
to d'ie of thirst. 

Under these circumstances, only one chance of escape is left 
them. They kill a Camel, and from its stomach they procure 
water enough to sustain life for a little longer, and perhaps to 
enable them to reach a well or fountain in which water still 
remains. The water which is thus obtained is unaltered, except 
by a greenish hue, the result of mixing with the remains of 
herbage in the cells. It is, of course, very disagreeable, but 
those who are dying from thirst cannot afford to be fastidious, 
and to them the water is a most delicious draught. 

It is rather curious that, if any of the water which is taken 
out of a dead Camel can be kept for a few days, both the green 
hue and the unpleasant flavour disappear, and the water 
becomes fresh, clear, and limpid. So wonderfully well do the 
internal cells preserve the water, that after a Camel has been 
dead for ten days — and in that hot climate ten days after death 
are equal to a month in England — the water within it has been 
quite pure and drinkable. 

Many persons believe in the popular though erroneous idea 
that the Camel does not require as much water as ordinary 
animals. He will see, however, from the foregoing account that 
it needs quite as much water as the horse or the ox, but that it 
possesses the capability of taking in at one time as much as 



220 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

either of these animals would drink in several days. So far 
from being independent of water, there is no animal that requires 
it more, or displays a stronger desire for it. A thirsty Camel 
possesses the power of scenting water at a very great distance, 
and, when it does so, its instincts conquer its education, and it 
goes off at full speed towards the spot, wholly ignoring its rider 
or driver. Many a desert spring has been discovered, and many 
a life saved, by this wonderful instinct, the animal having 
scented the distant water when its rider had lost all hope, and 
was resigning himself to that terrible end, the death by thirst. 
The sacred Zemzem fountain at Mecca was discovered by two 
thirsty Camels. 

Except by the Jews, the flesh of the Camel is eaten throughout 
Palestine and the neighbouring countries, and is looked upon as 
a. great luxury. The Arab, for example, can scarcely have a 
greater treat than a Camel -feast, and looks forward to it in a state 
of wonderful excitement. He is so impatient, that scarcely is 
the animal dead before it is skinned, cut up, and the various 
parts prepared for cooking. 

To European palates the flesh of the Camel is rather un- 
pleasant, being tough, stringy, and without much flavour. The 
fatty hump is universally considered as the best part of the 
animal, and is always offered to the chief among the guests, just 
as the North American Indian offers the hump of the bison to 
the most important man in the assembly. The heart and the 
tongue, however, are always eatable, and, however old a Camel 
may be, these parts can be cooked and eaten without fear. 

The hump, or " bunch" as it is called in the Bible, has no 
connexion with the spine, and is a supplementary growth, which 
varies in size, not only in the species, but in the individual. It 
is analogous to the hump upon the shoulders of the American 
bison and the Indian zebra, and in the best-bred Camels it is the 
smallest though the finest and most elastic. 

This hump, by the way, affords one of the points by which the 
value of the Camel is decided. When it is well fed and properly 
cared for, the hump projects boldly, and is Lrm and elastic to 
the touch. But if the Camel be ill, or if it be badly fed or over- 
worked, the hump becomes soft and flaccid, and in bad cases 
hangs down on one side like a thick flap of skin. Consequently, 
the dealers in Camels always try to produce their animals in the 



THE CAMEL. 221 

market with their humps well developed ; and, if they find that 
tiiis important part does not look satisfactory, they use various 

eans to give it the required fulness, inflating it with air 
being the most common. In fact, there is as much deception 
among Camel-dealers in Palestine as with dog or pigeon fanciers 
in England. 

Here perhaps I may remark that the hump has given rise to 
^ome strange but prevalent views respecting the Camel. Many 
persons think that the dromedary has one hump and the Camel 
two — in fact, that they are two totally distinct animals. Now 
the fact is that the Camel of Palestine is of one species only, 
the dromedary being a lighter and swifter breed, and differing 
from the ordinarv Camel just as a hunter or racer differs from 
a cart-horse. The two-humped Camel is a different species 
altogether, which will be briefly described at the end of the 
present article. 

The Camel is also used as a beast of draught, and, as we find, 
not only from the Scriptures, but from ancient monuments, was 
employed to draw chariots and drag the plough. Thus in Isa. 
xxi. 7 : "And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a 
chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels." It is evident that in 
this passage some chariots were drawn by Camels and some by 
asses. It is, however, remarkable that in Kennard's " Eastern 
Experiences, these two very useful animals are mentioned as 
being yoked together : " We passed through a fertile country, 
watching the fellaheen at their agricultural labours, and not a 
little amused at sometimes remarking a very tall camel and a 
very small donkey yoked together in double harness, dragging a 
plough through the rich brown soil." Camels drawing chariots 
are still to be seen in the Assyrian sculptures. In Palestine— 
at all events at the present time — the Camel is seldom if ever 
used as a beast of draught, being exclusively employed for bear- 
ing burdens and carrying riders. 

Taking it first as a beast of burden, we find several references 
in different parts of the Scriptures For example, see 2 Kings 
riii. 9 : "So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with 
him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' 
burden." Again, in 1 Chron. xii. 40 : " Moreover they that were 
nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, 



222 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on 
oxen." Another allusion to the same custom is made in Isaiah : 
" They will cany their riches npon the shoulders of young asses 
and their treasures upon the bunches (or humps) of camels." 

The Camel can carry a considerable load, though not so much 
as is generally fancied. A sort of a pack-saddle of a very 
simple description is used, in order to keep the burden upon sc 
strangely-shaped an animal. A narrow bag about eight feet 
long is made, and rather loosely stuffed with straw or similar 
material. It is then doubled, and the ends firmly sewn together 
so as to form a great ring, which is placed over the hump, and 
forms a tolerably flat surface. A wooden framework is tied on 
the pack-saddle, and is kept in its place by a girth and a 
crupper. The packages which the Camel is to carry are 
fastened together by cords, and slung over the saddle. They are 
only connected by those semi-knots called " hitches," so that, 
when the Camel is to be unloaded, all that is needed is to pull 
the lower end of the rope, and the packages fall on either side of 
the animal. So quickly is the operation of loading performed, 
that a couple of experienced men can load a Camel in very little 
more than a minute. 

As is the case with the horse in England, the Camels that are 
used as beasts of burden are of a heavier, slower, and altogether 
inferior breed to those which are employed to carry riders, and 
all their accoutrements are of a ruder and meaner order, devoid 
of the fantastic ornaments with which Oriental riders are fond 
of decorating their favourite animals. 

In the large illustration are represented two of the ordinary 
Camels of burden, as they appear when laden with boughs for 
the Feast of Tabernacles. The branches are those of the Hebrew 
pine, and, as may be seen, the animals are so heavily laden with 
them that their forms are quite hidden under their leafy 
burdens. The weight which a Camel will carry varies much, 
according to the strength of the individual, which has given rise 
to the Oriental proverb, " As the camel, so the load." But an 
animal of ordinary strength is supposed to be able to carry from 
five to six hundred pounds for a short journey, and half as much 
for a long one, — a quantity which, as the reader will see, is not 
so very great when the bulk of the animal is taken into consi- 
deration. It is remarkable that the Camel knows its own 




CAMEL. 
"They will carry their treasures upon the bunches of eimelA'— la*, xxx. 6. 



THE CAMEL. 22H 

powers, and instinctively refuses to move if its correct load 
be exceeded. But, when it is properly loaded, it will carry its 
burden for hours together at exactly the same pace, and without 
seeming more fatigued than it was when it started. 

The riding Camels are always of a better breed than those 
which are used for burden, and may be divided into two classes ; 
namely, those which are meant for ordinary purposes, and those 
which are specially bred for speed and endurance. There is as 
much difl'erence between the ordinary riding Camel and the 
swift Camel as there is between the road hack and the race- 
horse. We will first begin with the description of the common 
riding Camel and its accoutrements. 

The saddle which is intended for a rider is very different from 
the pack-saddle on which burdens are carried, and has a long 
upright projection in front, to which the rider can hold if he 
wishes it. 

The art of riding the Camel is nearly as difficult of accom- 
plishment as that of riding the horse, and the preliminary 
operation of mounting is not the least difficult portion of it. Of 
course, to mount a Camel while the animal is standing is im- 
possible, and accordingly it is taught to kneel until the rider is 
seated. Kneeling is a natural position with the Camel, which 
is furnished with large callosities or w 7 arts on the legs and 
breast, which act as cushions on which it may rest its great 
weight without abrading the skin. These callosities are not 
formed, as some have imagined, by the constant kneeling to 
which the Camel is subjected, but are born with it, though of 
course less developed than they are after they have been har- 
dened by frequent pressure against the hot sand. 

When the Camel kneels, it first drops on its knees, and then 
on the joints of the hind legs. Next it drops on its breast, and 
then again on the bent hind legs. In rising it reverses the pro- 
cess, so that a novice is first pitched forward, then backward, 
then forward, and then backward again, to the very great dis- 
arrangement of his garments, and the probable loss of his seat 
altogether. Then when the animal kneels he is in danger 
of being thrown over its head by the first movement, and jerked 
over its tail by the second ; but after a time he learns to keep 
his seat mechanically. 

As to the movement of the animal, it is at first almost its 



224 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

unpleasant as can be conceived, and has been described by several 
travellers, some of whose accounts will be here given. First 
comes Albert Smith, who declares that any one who wants to 
practise Camel-riding in England can do so by taking a music- 
stool, screwing it up as high as possible, putting it into a cart 
without springs, sitting on the top of it cross-legged, and 
having the cart driven at full speed transversely over a newly 
ploughed field. 

There is, however, a^ great a difference in the gait of Camels 
as of horses, some animals having a quiet, regular, easy move- 
ment, while others are rough and high-stepping, harassing their 
riders grievously in the saddle. Even the smooth-going Camel 
is, however, very trying at first, on account of its long swinging 
strides, which are taken with the legs of each side alternately, 
causing the body of the rider to swing backwards and forwards 
as if he were rowing in a boat 

Those who suffer from sea-sickness are generally attacked with 
the same malady when they make their first attempts at Camel- 
riding, while even those who are proof against this particular 
form of discomfort soon, begin to find that their backs are 
aching, and that the pain becomes steadily worse. Change of 
attitude is but little use, and the wretched traveller derives but 
scant comfort from the advice of his guide, who tells him to 
allow his body to swing freely, and that in a short time he will 
become used to it. Some days, however, are generally consumed 
before he succeeds in training his spine to the continual unac- 
customed movement, and he finds that, when he wakes on 
the morning that succeeds his first essay, his back is so stiff 
that he can scarcely move without screaming with pain, and 
that the prospect of mounting the Camel afresh is anything but 
a pleasant one. 

" I tried to sit erect without moving,'" writes Mr. Kennard, 
when describing his experience of Camel-riding. " This proved 
a relief for a few minutes, but, finding the effort too great to 
continue long in this position, 1 attempted to recline with my 
head resting upon my hand. This last manoeuvre I found would 
not do, for the motion of the camel's hind legs was so utterly at 
variance with the motion of his fore-legs that I was jerked up- 
wards, and forwards, and sideways, and finally ended in nearly 
rolling off altogether. 



THE CA.MEL. 225 

" Without sroingr into the details of all that 1 suffered tor the 
next two or three days-^how that on several occasions I slid 
from the camel's back to the ground, in despair of ever accus- 
toming my half-dislocated joints to the ceaseless jerking and 
swaying to and fro, and how that I often determined to trudge 
on foot over the hot desert sand all the way to Jerusalem rather 
than endure it longer - 1 shall merely say that the day did at 
last arrive when I descended from my camel, after many hours' 
riding, in as happy and comfortable a state of mind as if T had 
been lolling in the easiest of arm-chairs." 

A very similar description of the transition from acute and 
constant suffering to perfect ease is given by Albert Smith, who 
stntes that more than once he has dozed on the back of his 
Camel, in spite of the swaying backwards and forwards to 
which his body was subjected. 

If such be the discomfort of riding a smooth-going and good^ 
tempered Camel, it may be imagined that to ride a hard-going 
and cross-grained animal must be a very severe trial to an inex- 
perienced rider. A very amusing account of a ride on such a 
Camel, and of a fall from its back, is given by Mr. Hamilton in 
his " Sinai, the Hedjaz, and Soudan : " — 

" A dromedary I had obtained at Suk Abu Sin for my own 
riding did not answer my expectations, or rather the saddle was 
badly put on — not an easy thing to do well, by the way — and 
one of my servants, who saw how out of patience I was at the 
many times I had had to dismount to have it arranged, persuaded 
me to try the one he was riding, the Sheik's present. I had my 
large saddle transferred to his beast, and, nothing doubting, 
mounted it. 

li He had not only no nose-string, but was besides a vicious 
brute, rising with a violent jerk before 1 was well in the saddle, 
and anxious to gain the caravan, which was a little way ahead, 
he set off at his roughest gallop. Carpets, kufieh, tarbush, all 
went off in the jolting ; at every step I was thrown a foot into 
the air, glad to come down again, bump, bump, on the saddle, by 
dint of holding on to the front pommel with the left hand, while 
the right was engaged with the bridle, w r hich in the violence of 
the exercise it was impossible to change to its proper hand. I 
had almost reached the caravan, and had no doubt my hump- 
backed Pegasus would relax his exertions, when a camel-driver, 
16 



226 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

one of the sons of iniquity, seeing me come up at full speed, and 
evidently quite run away with, took it into his heaxl to come tc 
my assistance. 

" I saw what be was at, and called out to him to get out of 
the way, but instead of this he stuck himself straight before me, 
stretching himself out like a St Andrew's cross, with one hand 
armed with a huge club, and making most diabolical grimaces. 
Of course the camel was frightened, it was enough to frighten a 
much more reasonable being ; so, wheeling quickly round, it upset 
my unstable equilibrium. Down I came head foremost to the 
ground, and when I looked up, my forehead streaming with 
blood, the first thing T saw was my Arab with the camel, which 
he seemed mightily pleased with himself for having so cleverly 
captured, while the servant who had suggested the unlucky ex- 
periment came ambling along on my easy-paced dromedary, and 
consoled me by saying that he knew it was a runaway beast, 
which there was no riding without a nose-string. 

" I now began to study the way of keeping one's seat in such 
an emergency. An Arab, when he gallops his dromedary with 
one of these saddles, holds hard on with the right hand to the 
back part of the seat, not to the pommel, and grasps the bridle 
tightly in the other. The movement of the camel in galloping 
throws one violently forward, and without holding on, excepting 
on the naked back, when the rider sits behind the hump, it is 
impossible to retain one's seat. I afterwards thought myseli 
lucky in not having studied this point sooner, as, from the greater 
resistance I should have offered, my tumble, since it was fated I 
should have one, would probably have been much more severe. 
It is true I might also have escaped it, but in the chapter of 
probabilities I always think a mishap the most probable." 

It may be imagined that a fall from a Camel's back is not 
a trifle, and, even if the unskilful rider be fortunate enough to 
fall on soft sand instead of hard rock, he receives a tolerably 
severe shock, and runs no little risk of breaking a limb. For 
the average height of a Camel's back is rather more than six feet, 
while some animals measure seven feet from the ground to the 
top of the hump Add to this a foot or two caused by the 
saddle and its cushions, and a height is gained equal to that 
of the ceiling of many rooms — say, eighteen inches above the top 
of an ordinary door. 



THE CAMEL. 227 

This height, however, is of material advantage to the traveller. 
In the first place it lifts him above the waves of heated air thai 
are continually rolling over the sand on which the burning rays 
of the sun are poured throughout the day ; and in the second 
place it brings him within reach of the slightest breeze that 
passes above the stratum of hot air, and which comes to the 
traveller like the breath of life. Moreover, his elevated posi- 
tion enables him to see for a very great distance, which is au 
invaluable advantage in a land where every stranger may be 
a robber, and is probably a murderer besides. 

The best mode of avoiding a fall is to follow the Arab mode 
of riding, — namely, to pass one leg over the upright pommel, 
which, as has been mentioned, is a mere wooden peg or stake, 
and hitching the other leg over the dangling foot. Perhaps the 
safest, though not the most comfortable, mode of sitting is by 
crossing the legs in front, and merely grasping the pommel with 
the hands. 

Yet, fatiguing as is the seat on the Camel's back to the 
beginner, it is less so than that on the horse's saddle, inasmuch 
as in the latter case one position is preserved, while in the 
former an infinite variety of seat is attainable when the rideT 
has fairly mastered the art of riding. 

The Camel is not held by the bit and bridle like the horse, 
but by a rope tied like a halter round the muzzle, and having 
a knot on the left or "near" side. This is held in the left hand, 
and is used chiefly for the purpose of stopping the animal. The 
Camel is guided partly by the voice of its iider, and partly by 
a driving-stick, with which the neck is lightly touched on the 
opposite side to that which its rider wishes it to take. A 
pressure of the heel on the shoulder-bone tells it to quicken its 
pace, and a little tap on the head followed by a touch on the 
short ears are the signals for full speed. 

There are three different kinds of stick with which the Camel 
is driven ; one of them, a mere almond branch with the bark, 
and an oblique head, is the sceptre or emblem of sovereignty of 
the Prince of Mecca. Mr. Hamilton suggests that this stick, 
called the " mcsKdb" is the original of the jackal-headed stick 
with which so many of the Egyptian deities are represented; 
and that Aaron's rod that "brought forth buds, and bloomed 
blossoms, and yielded almonds," was the mestiab, the almond- 



228 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

branch sceptre, the emblem of his almost regal rank and 
authority. 

The women mostly ride in a different manner from the men. 
Sometimes they are hardy enough to sit the animal in the same 
way as their husbands, but as a rule they are carried by the 
animal rather than ride it, sitting in great basket-like appendages 
which are slung on either side of the Camel. These constitute 
the "furniture" which is mentioned in Gen. xxxi. 34. When 
Jacob left the house of Laban, to lead an independent life. 
Rachel stole her lather's images, or "teraphim,"and carried them 
away with her, true to her affectionate though deceptive nature, 
which impelled her to incur the guilt of robbery for the sake of 
enriching her husband with the cherished teraphim of her 
father. From the most careful researches we learn that these 
teraphim were used for divining the future, and that they were 
made in the human form. That they were of considerable size 
is evident from the fact that, when Saul was hunting after David, 
his wife Michal contrived to convey him out of the house, and 
for a time to conceal her fraud by putting an image (or terapli) 
into the bed as a representative of her husband. Had not, 
therefore, the camel- furniture been of considerable dimensions, 
images of such a size could not be hidden, but they could 
well be stowed away in the great panniers, as long as their 
mistress sat upon them, after the custom of Oriental travellers, 
and declined to rise on the ready plea of indisposition. 

This sort of carriage is still used for the women and children. 
"The wife and child came by in the string of camels, the 
former reclining in an immense circular box, stuffed and padded, 
covered with red cotton, and dressed with yellow worsted orna- 
ments. This family nest was mounted on a large camel. It 
seemed a most commodious and well-arranged travelling carriage, 
and very superior as a mode of camel-riding to that which our 
Sitteen rejoiced in (i.e. riding upon a saddle). The Arab wife 
could change her position at pleasure, and the child had room 
to walk about and could not fall out, the sides of the box just 
reaching to its shoulders. Various jugs and skins and articles 
of domestic use hung suspended about it, and trappings of 
fringe and finery ornamented it." 

This last sentence brings us to another point which is several 
times mentioned in the Bible ; namely, the ornaments with 



THE CAMEL. 22!> 

which the proprietors of Camels are fond of bedizening their 
favourite animals. 

Thpir leathern collars are covered with cowrie shells sewn on 
them in various fantastic patterns. Crescent-shaped ornaments 
are made of shells sewn on red cloth, and hung so abundantly 
upon the harness of the animal that they jingle at every step 
which it takes. Sheiks and other men of rank often have 
these ornaments made of silver, so that the cost of the entire 
trappings is very great. Allusion is made to these costly orna- 
ments in Judges viii. When Gideon warred against Succoth, 
he captured the two chiefs or kings of Midian, Zebah and 
Zalmunna, and, after putting them to death, he " took away the 
ornaments that were on their camels' necks," — or, as the 
marginal translation has it, their "ornaments like the moon," 
i.e. crescent-shaped ; this form having been retained unchanged 
for three thousand years. (Judges viii. 21.) The value of such 
ornaments is evident from the fact that they are mentioned so 
conspicuously in Holy Writ ; and, as if to show that the Camel 
trappings were of very considerable value, a further reference is 
made to them in the following passage. After the battle, Gideon 
made a request to his soldiers " that ye would give me every 
man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, 
because they were Ishmaelites.) 

"And they answered, We will willingly give them. And 
they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the 
earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that 
he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold ; 
beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on 
the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about theii 
camels' necks." Here we see that the ornaments to the Camels 
were sufficiently costly to be classed with the golden jewellery 
and the royal apparel that were worn by the kings of Midian. 

We now come to the Swift Camel, sometimes called the Heirie, 
the Maharik, or the Deloul, the last of these terms being that 
by which it will be mentioned in these pages. 

The limbs of the Deloul are long and wiry, having not an 
ounce of superfluous fat upon them, the shoulders are very broad, 
and the hump, though firm and hard, is very small. 

A thoroughbred Deloul, in good travelling condition, is not 



230 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

at all a pleasing animal to an ordinary eye, being a lank, gaunt, 
and ungainly-looking creature, the very conformation which 
insures its swiftness and endurance being that which detracts 
from its beauty. An Arab of the desert, however, thinks a 
good Deloul one of the finest sights in the world. As the talk 
of the pastoral tribes is of sheep nnd oxen, so is the talk of the 
nomads about Camels. It is a subject which is for ever on their 
lips, and a true Bedouin may be seen to contemplate the beauties 
of one of these favourite animals for hours at a time, — if his 
own, with the rapture of a possessor, or, if another's, with the 
determination of stealing it when he can find an opportunity. 

Instead of plodding along at the rate of three miles an hour v 
which is the average speed of the common Camel, the Deloul 
can cover, if lightly loaded, nine or ten miles an hour, and go on 
at the same pace for a wonderful time, its long legs swinging, 
and its body swaying, as if it were but an animated machine. 
Delouls have been reported to have journeyed for nearly fifty 
hours without a single stop for rest, during which time the 
animals must have traversed nearly five hundred miles. Such 
examples must, however, be exceptional, implying, as they do, 
an amount of endurance on the part of the rider equal to that 
of the animal ; and even a journey of half that distance is 
scarcely possible to ordinary men on Delouls. 

For the movements of the Deloul are very rough, and the 
rider is obliged to prepare himself for a long journey by belting 
himself tightly with two leathern bands, one just under the 
arms, a-nd the other round the pit of the stomach. Without 
these precautions, the rider w r ould be likely to suffer serious 
injuries, and, even with them, the exercise is so severe, that an 
Arab makes it a matter of special boast that he can ride a 
Deloul for a whole day. 

A courier belonging to the Sherif of Mecca told Mr. Hamilton 
that he often went on the same dromedary from Mecca to Medina 
in forty-eight hours, the distance being two hundred and forty 
miles. And a thoroughbred Deloul will travel for seven or 
eight weeks with only four or five days of rest. 

Even at the present time, these Camels are used for the con- 
veyance of special messages, and in the remarkable Bornu king- 
dom a regular service of these animals is established, two couriers 
always travelling in company, so that if one rider or Camel 



THE CAMEL. 



231 



should fail or be captured by the Arabs, who are always on the 
alert for so valuable a prey, the other may post on and carry the 
message to its destination. 

Tho swift dromedary, or Deloul, is mentioned several times in 
the Old Testament. One of them occurs in Isa. lx. 6 : " The 
multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian 




TIIK (TAMEI. POST. 



and Ephah." In this passage a distinction is drawn between 
the ordinary Camel and the swift dromedary, the former being 
the word " gainel," and the latter the word " beker," which is 
again used in Jer. ii. 23 : " See thy way in the valley, know 
what thou hast done : thou art a swift dromedary." 

There is a passage in the Book of Esther which looks as if it 
referred to the ordinary Camel and the swift dromedary, but 



232 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

there is considerable uncertainty about the proper rendering 
It runs as follows : ' And he wrote in king Ahasuerus' name, 
and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters and 
posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young 
dromedaries." 

The Jewish Bible, however, translates this passage as follows : 
" And sent letters by the runners on the horses, and riders on 
the racers, mules, and young mares." Now, the word rekesh, 
which is translated as "racer," is rendered by Buxtorf as "a 
swift horse t oi mule," and the word beni-rammachim, which 
is translated as " young mares," literally signifies " those born 
of mares." 

The Camel-drivers behave towards their animals with the 
curious inconsistency which forms so large a part of the Oriental 
character. 

Prizing them above nearly all earthly things, proud of them, 
and loving them after their own fashion, the drivers will talk to 
them, cheer them, and sing interminable songs for their benefit. 
Towards the afternoon the singing generally begins, and it goes 
on without cessation in a sort of monotonous hum, as Dr. Bonar 
calls it. The same traveller calls attention to a passage in 
Caussinus' " Polyhistor Symbolicus," in which the learned and 
didactic author symbolizes the maxim that more can be done by 
kindness than by blows. "The Camel is greatly taken with 
music and melody. So much so, indeed, that if it halts through 
weariness, the driver does not urge it with stripes and blows, 
but soothes it by his songs." 

Several travellers have mentioned these songs. See, for 
example, Miss Eogers' account of some Bedouins : " Their songs 
were already subdued to harmonize with their monotonous 
swinging pace, and chimed softly and plaintively with the 
tinkling of camel-bells, thus — 

" ' Dear unto me as the sight of mine eyes, 

Art thou, my Camel ! 
Precious to me as the health of my life, 

Art thou, my Camel ! 
Sweet to my ears is the sound 

Of thy tinkling bells, my Camel ] 
And sweet to thy listening ears 

Is the sound of my evening song.' 

And so on, ad libitum" 



THE CAMEL. 233 

Sometimes a female Camel gives birth to a colt on the journey. 
In such a case, a brief pause is made, and then the train pro- 
ceeds on its journey, the owner of the Camel carrying the young 
one in his arms until the evening halt. He then gives it to its 
mother, and on the following day it is able to follow her without 
further assistance. The young Camels are almost pretty, their 
hair being paler than that of the adult animal, and their limbs 
more slender. 

Although the young Camel is better-looking than its parents, 
it is not one whit more playful. Unlike almost all other animals, 
the Camel seems to have no idea of play, and even the young 
Camel of a month or two old follows its mother with the same 
steady, regular pace which she herself maintains. 

In spite of all the kindness with which a driver treats his 
Camels, he can at times be exceedingly cruel to them, persisting 
in over-loading and over-driving them, and then, if a Camel fall 
exhausted, removing its load, and distributing it among the 
other Camels. As soon as this is done, be gives the signal to. 
proceed, and goes on his way, abandoning the wretched animal 
to its fate — i.e. to thirst and the vultures. He will not even 
have the humanity to kill it, but simply leaves it on the ground, 
muttering that it is " his fate ! " 



THE CAMEL. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Camel and its master — Occasional fury of the animal — A boy killed by a 
Camel — Another instance of an infuriated Camel — Theory respecting the 
Arab and his Camel — Apparent stupidity of the Camel — Its hatred of a load, 
and mode of expressing its disapprobation — Hiding a Camel through the 
streets — A narrow escape — Ceremony of weaning a young Camel — The Camel's 
favourite food — Structure of the foot and adaptation to locality — Difficulty 
in provisioning — Camel's hair and skin— Sal ammoniac and Desert fuel — The 
Camel and the needle's eye — Straining at a gnat and swallowing a Camel. 

We now come to the general characteristics of the Camel. 

The Camels know their master well, some of them beino- 
much more affectionate than others. But they are liable to fits 



234 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of strange fury, in which case even their own masters are not 
safe from them. They are also of a revengeful nature, and have 
an unpleasant faculty of treasuring up an injury until they can 
find a time of repaying it. Signor Pierotti gives a curious 
example of this trait of character. As he was going to the 
Jordan, he found a dead Camel lying on the roadside, the head 
nearly separated from the body. On inquiry he found that 
the animal had a master who ill-treated it, and had several times 
tried to bite him. One evening, after the Camels had been 
unloaded, the drivers lay down to sleep as usual. 

The Camel made its way to its master, and stamped on him 
as he slept. The man uttered one startled cry, but had no time 
for another. The infuriated Camel followed up its attack by 
grasping his throat in its powerful jaws, and shaking him to 
death. The whole scene passed so rapidly, that before the other 
drivers could come, to the man's assistance he was bringing dead 
.from the jaws of the Camel, who was shaking him as a dog 
shakes a rat, and would not release its victim until its head 
had been nearly severed from its body by sword-cuts. 

A similar anecdote is told by Mr. Palgrave, in his " Central 
and Eastern Arabia :" — 

" One passion alone he possesses, namely, revenge, of which 
he gives many a hideous example; while, in carrying it out, he 
shows an unexpected degree of foretho lighted malice, united mean- 
while with all the cold stupidity of his usual character. One 
instance of this 1 well remember— it occurred hard by a small 
town in the plain of Baalbec, where I was at the time residing. 

" A lad of about fourteen had conducted a large camel, laden 
with wood, from that very village to" another at half an hour's 
distance or so. As the animal loitered or turned out of the way, 
its conductor struck it repeatedly, and harder than it seems to 
have thought he had a right to do. But, not finding the occasion 
favourable for taking immediate quits, it ' bided its time/ nor 
was that time long in coming. 

" A few days later, the same lad had to re-conduct the beast, 
but unladen, to his own village. When they were about half 
way on the road, and at some distance from any habitation, the 
camel suddenly stopped, looked deliberately round in every 
direction to assure itself that no one was in sight, and, finding 
the road clear of passers-by, made a step forward, seized the 



THE CAMEL. 235 

unlucky boy's head in its monstrous mouth, and, lifting him up 
in the air, flung him down again on the earth, with the uppei 
part of his head completely torn off, and his brains scattered on 
the ground. Having thus satisfied its revenge, the brute quietly 
resumed its pace towards the village, as though nothing were 
the matter, till some men, who had observed the whole, though 
unfortunately at too great a distance to be able to afford timely 
help, came up and killed it. 

" Indeed, so marked is this unamiable propensity, that some 
philosophers have ascribed the revengeful character cf the Arabs 
t<"» the great share which the flesh and milk of the camel have 
in their sustenance, and which are supposed to communicate, to 
those who partake of them over-largely, the moral or immoral 
qualities of the animal to which they belonged. I do not feel 
myself capable of pronouncing an opinion on so intricate a 
question, but thus much I can say, that the camel and its 
Bedouin master do afford so many and such divers points of 
resemblance, that I do not think our Arab of Shomer far in the 
wrong, when 1 once on a time heard him say, * God created the 
Bedouin for the camel, and the camel for the Bedouin.' " 

The reader will observe that Mr. Palgrave in this anecdote 
makes reference to the stupidity of the Camel. There is no 
doubt that the Camel is by no means an intellectual animal ; but 
it is very possible that its stupidity may in a great measure be 
owing to the fact that no one has tried to cultivate its intellectual 
powers. The preceding anecdotes show clearly that the Camel 
must possess a strong memory, and be capable of exercising 
considerable ingenuity. 

Still it is not a clever animal. If its master should fall off 
its back, it never dreams of stopping, as a well-trained horse 
would do, but proceeds at the same plodding pace, leaving his 
master to catch it if he can. Should it turn out of the way to 
crop some green thorn-bush, it will go on in the same direction, 
never thinking of turning back into the right road unless di- 
rected by its rider. Should the Camel stray, " it is a thousand 
to one that he will never find bis way back to his accustomed 
home or pasture, and the first man who picks him up will have 
no particular shyness to get over; . . . and the losing of his old 
master and of his former cameline companions gives him no 
regret, and occasions no endeavour to find them again." 



236 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

He has the strongest objection to being laden at all, no matter 
how light, may be the burden, and expresses his disapprobation 
by growling and groaning, and attempting to bite. !So habitual 
is this conduct that if a kneeling Camel be only approached, and 
a stone as large as a walnut laid on its back, it begins to remon- 
strate in its usual manner, groaning as if it were crushed to the 
earth with its load. 

The Camel never makes way for any one, its instinct leading 
it to plod onward in its direct course. AVhat may have been its 
habits in a state of nature no one can tell, for such a phenomenon 
as a wild Camel has never been known in the memory of man. 
There are wild oxen, wild goats, wild sheep, wild horses, and 
wild asses, but there is no spot on the face of the earth where 
the Camel is found except as the servant of man. Through 
innate stupidity, according to Mr. Palgrave, it goes straight for- 
wards in the direction to which its head happens to be pointed, 
and is too foolish even to think of stopping unless it hears the 
signal for halt. 

As it passes through the narrow streets of an Oriental city, 
laden with goods that project on either side, and nearly fill up 
the thoroughfare, it causes singular inconvenience, forcing every 
one who is in front of it to press himself closely to the wall, and 
to make way for the enormous beast as it plods along. The 
driver or rider generally gives notice by continually calling to 
the pedestrians to get out of the way, but a laden Camel rarely 
passes through a long street without having knocked down a 
man or two, or driven before it a few riders on asses who cannot 
pass between the Camel and the wall. 

One source of danger to its rider is to be found in the low 
archways which span so many of the streets. They are just 
high enough to permit a laden Camel to pass under them, but are 
so low that they leave no room for a rider. The natives, who 
are accustomed to this style of architecture, are always ready for 
an archway, and, when the rider sees an archway which will not 
allow him to retain his seat, he slips to the ground, and remounts 
on the other side of the obstacle. 

Mr. Kennard had a very narrow escape with one of these arch- 
ways. " 1 had passed beneath one or two in perfect safety, without 
being obliged to do more than just bend my head forward, and 
was ill the act of conversing with one of m}' companions behind, 



THE CAMEL. 237 

and was therefore in a happy state of ignorance as to what was 
immediately before me, when the shouting and running together 
of the Deople in the street on either side made me turn my head 
quickly, but only just in time to feel my breath thrown back on 
my face against the keystone of a gateway, beneath which my 
camel, with too much way on him to be stopped immediately, 
had already commenced to pass. 

" With a sort of feeling that it was all over with me, I threw 
myself back as far as I could, and was carried through in an 
almost breathless state, my shirt-studs actually scraping along 
against the stonework On emerging again into the open 
street, T could hardly realize my escape, for if there had been a 
single projecting stone to stop my progress, the camel would 
have struggled to get free, and my chest must have been 
crushed in." 

It will be seen from these instances that the charge of stu- 
pidity is not an undeserved one. Still the animal has enough 
intellect to receive all the education which it needs for the service 
of man, and which it receives at a very early age. The ordinary 
Camel of burden is merely taught to follow its conductor, to 
obey the various words and gestures of command, and to endure 
a load. The Deloul, however, is more carefully trained. It is 
allowed to follow its mother for a whole year in perfect liberty. 
Towards the expiration of that time the young animal is gradually 
stinted in its supply of milk, and forced to browse for its nourish- 
ment. On the anniversary of its birth, the young Deloul is 
turned with its head towards Canopus, and its ears solemnly 
boxed, its master saying at the same time, " Henceforth drinkest 
thou no drop of milk." For this reason the newly-weaned 
Camel is called Lathim, or the " ear-boxed." It is then pre- 
vented from sucking by a simple though cruel experiment. A 
wooden peg is sharpened at both ends, and one end thrust into 
the young animal's nose. When it tries to suck, it pricks its 
mother with the projecting end, and at the same time forces the 
other end more deeply into the wound, so that the mother drives 
away her offspring, and the young soon ceases to make the 
attempt. 

The food of the Camel is very simple, being, in fact, anything 
that it can get. As it proceeds on its journey, it manages to 
browse as it goes along, bending its long neck to the ground, and 



238 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

cropping the scanty herbage without a pause. Camels have 
been known to travel for twenty successive days, passing over 
some eight hundred miles of ground, without receiving any food 
except that which they gathered for themselves by the way. 
The favourite food of the Camel is a shrub called the gliada, 
growing to six feet or so in height, and forming a feathery tuft 
of innumerable little green twigs, very slender and flexible. It 
is so fond of this shrub that a Camel can scarcely ever pass a 
bush without turning aside to crop it ; and even though it be 
beaten severely for its misconduct, it will repeat the process at 
the next shrub that comes in sight. 

It also feeds abundantly on the thorn-bushes which grow so 
plentifully in that part of the world ; and though the thorns are 
an inch or two in length, very strong, and as sharp as needles, 
the hard, horny palate of the animal enables it to devour them 
with perfect ease. 

There are several species of these thorn-shrubs, which are 
scattered profusely over the ground, and are, in fact, the com- 
monest growth of the place. After they die, being under the 
fierce sun of that climate, they dry up so completely, that if 
a light be set to them they blaze up in a moment, with a sharp 
cracking sound and a roar of flame, and in a moment or two are 
nothing but a heap of light ashes. No wonder was it that when 
Moses saw the thorn-bush burning without being consumed he 
was struck with awe at the miracle. These withered bushes 
are the common fuel of the desert, giving out a fierce but brief 
heat, and then suddenly sinking into ashes. " For as the 
crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool " 
(Eccl. vii. 6). 

The dried and withered twigs of these bushes are also eaten 
by the Camel, which seems to have a power of extracting nutri- 
ment from every sort of vegetable substance. It has been fed 
on charcoal, and, as has been happily remarked, could thrive on 
the shavings of a carpenter's workshop. 

Still, when food is plentiful, it is fed as regularly as can be 
managed, and generally after a rather peculiar manner. " Our 
guide," writes Mr. Hamilton, in the work which has already been 
mentioned, " is an elderly man, the least uncouth of our camel- 
drivers. He has three camels in the caravan, and it was amusing 
to see his preparations for their evening's entertainment. The 



THE CAMEL. ' 23 y 

table-cloth, a circular piece of leather, was duly spread on the 
ground ; on this he poured the quantity of dourrah destined for 
their meal, and calling his camels, they came and took each its 
place at the feast. It is quaint to see how eacli in his turn eats, 
so gravely and so quietly, stretching his long neck into the 
middle of the heap, then raising his head to masticate each 
mouthful ; all so slowly and with such gusto, that we could 
swear it was a party of epicures sitting in judgment on one of 
Vachette's chefs d'asuvre." 

The foregoing passages will show the reader how wonderfully 
adapted is the constitution of the Camel for the country in which 
it lives, and how indispensable it is to the inhabitants. It has 
been called " the ship of the desert," for without the Camel the 
desert would be as impassable as the sea without ships. No 
water being found for several days' journey together, the animal 
is able to carry within itself a supply of water which will last it 
for several days, and, as no green thing grows far from the 
presence of water, the Camel is able to feed upon the brief-lived 
thorn-shrubs which have sprung up and died, and which, from 
their hard and sharp prickles, are safe from every animal except 
the hard-mouthed Camel. 

But these advantages would be useless without another — i.e. 
the foot. The mixed stones and sand of the desert would ruin 
the feet of almost any animal, and it is necessary that the Camel 
should be furnished with a foot that cannot be split by heat like 
the hoof of a horse, that is broad enough to prevent the creature 
from sinking into the sand, and is tough enough to withstand 
the action of the rough and burning soil. 

Such a foot does the Camel possess. It consists of two long 
toes resting upon a hard elastic cushion with a tough and horny 
sole. This cushion is so soft that the tread of the huge animal 
is as noiseless as that of a cat, and, owing to the division of the 
toes, it spreads as the weight comes upon it, and thus gives 
;i firm looting on loose ground. The foot of the moose- deer has 
a simil'ar property, in order to enable the animal to walk upon 
the snow. 

In consequence of this structure, the Camel sinks less deeply 
into the ground than any other animal ; but yet it does sink in 
it, and dislikes a deep and loose sand, groaning at every step, 
and being wearied by the exertion of dragging its hard foot out 



240 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of the holes into which they sink. It is popularly thought that 
hills are impracticable to the Camel ; but it is able to climb even 
rocky ground from which a horse would recoil. Mr. Marsh, an 
American traveller, was much surprised by seeing a caravan of 
fifty camels pass over a long ascent in Arabia Petrsea. The rock 
was as smooth as polished marble, and the angle was on an 
average fifteen degrees ; but the whole caravan passed over it 
without an accident. 

The soil that a Camel most hates is a wet and muddy ground, 
on which it is nearly sure to slip. If the reader will look at a 
Camel from behind, he will see that the hinder legs are close 
together until the ankle-joint, when they separate so widely that 
the feet are set on the ground at a considerable distance from each 
other. On dry ground this structure increases the stability of 
the animal by increasing its base ; but on wet ground the effect 
is singularly unpleasant. The soft, padded feet have no hold, 
and slip sideways at every step, often with such violence as to 
dislocate a joint and cause the death of the animal. When 
such ground has to be traversed, the driver generally passes a 
bandage round the hind legs just below the ankle-joint, so as to 
prevent them from diverging too far. 

It must be remarked, however, that the country in which the 
animal lives is essentially a dry one, and that moist and muddy 
ground is so exceptional that the generality of Camels never see 
it in their lives. Camels do not object to mud an inch or two 
deep, provided that there is firm ground below ; and they have 
been seen to walk with confident safety over pavements covered 
with mud and half-frozen snow. 

The animals can ford rivers well enough, provided that the 
bed be stony or gravelly ; but they are bad swimmers, their 
round bodies and long necks being scarcely balanced by their 
legs, so that they are apt to roll over on their sides, and in such 
a case they are sure to be drowned. When swimming is a 
necessity, the head is generally tied to the stern of a boat, or 
guided by the driver swimming in front, while another often 
clings to the tail, so as to depress the rump and elevate the 
head. It is rather curious that the Camels of the Sahara cannot 
be safely entrusted to the water. They will swim the river 
readily enough ; but they are apt to be seized with illness after- 
wards, and to die in a few hours. 



THE CAMEL. 241 

We now come to some other uses of the Camel. 

Its hair is of the greatest importance, as it is used for many 
purposes. In this country, all that we know practically of the 
Camel's hair is that it is employed in making brushes for 
painters ; but in its own land the hair plays a really important 
part. At the proper season it is removed from the animal, 
usually by being pulled away in tufts, but sometimes by being 
shorn like the wool of sheep, and it is then spun by the women 
into strong thread. 

From this thread are made sundry fabrics where strength is 
required and coarseness is not an objection. The " black tents " 
of the Bedouin Arabs, similar to those in which Abraham lived, 
are made of Camel's hair, and so are the rugs, carpets, and cordage 
used by the nomad tribes. Even mantles for rainy or cold 
weather are made of Camel's hair, and it was in a dress of this 
coarse and rough material that St. John the Baptist was clad. 
The best part of the Camel's hair is that which grows in tufts 
on the back and about the hump, the fibre being much longer 
than that which covers the body. There is also a little very 
tine under- wool which is carefully gathered, and, when a suffi- 
cient quantity is procured, it is spun and woven into garments. 
Shawls of this material are even now as valuable as those which 
are made from the Cachmire goat. 

The skin of the Camel is made into a sort of leather. It is 
simply tanned by being pegged out in the sun and rubbed with 
salt. 

Sandals and leggings are made of this leather, and in some 
places water-bottles are manufactured from it, the leather being 
thicker and less porous than that of the goat, and therefore 
wasting less of the water by evaporation. The bones are utilized, 
being made into various articles of commerce. 

So universally valuable is the Camel that even its dung is 
important to its owners. Owing to the substances on which the 
animal feeds, it consists of little but macerated fragments of aro- 
matic shrubs. It is much used as poultices in case of bruises 
or rheumatic pains, and is even applied with some success to 
simple fractures It is largely employed for fuel, and the desert 
couriers use nothing else, their Camels being furnished with a 
net, so that none of this useful substance shall be lost. For this 
purpose it ir. carefully collected, mixed with bits uf straw, and 
1/ 



242 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

made into little rolls, which are dried in the sun, and can then 
be laid by for any time until they are needed. 

Mixed with clay and straw, it is most valuable as a kind of 
mortar or cement with which the walls of huts are rendered 
weather-proof, and the same material is used in the better-class 
houses to make a sort of terrace on the flat roof. This must be 
waterproof in order to withstand the wet of the rainy season, 
and no material answers the purpose so weli as that which has 
been mentioned. So strangely hard and firm is this composition, 
that stoves are made of it. These stoves are made like jars, and 
have the faculty of resisting the power of the inclosed fire Even 
after it is burned it has its uses, the ashes being employed in the 
manufacture of sal-ammoniac. . 

There are two passages in the New Testament which mention 
the Camel in an allegorical sense. The first of these is the 
proverbial saying of our Lord, " A rich man shall hardly enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. Again I say unto you, It is easier 
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of God " (Matt. xix. 23, 24). 

Now, this well-known but scarcely understood passage re- 
quires some little dissection. If the reader will refer to the 
context, he will see that this saying was spoken in allusion to 
the young and wealthy man who desired to be one of the 
disciples, but clung too tightly to his wealth to accept the only 
conditions on which he could be received. His possessions were 
a snare to him, as was proved by his refusal to part with them 
at Christ's command. On his retiring, the expression was used, 
"that a rich man shall hardly (or, with difficulty) enter the 
kingdom of heaven," followed by the simile of the Camel and 
the needle's eye. 

Now, if we are to take this passage literally, we can but draw 
one conclusion from it, that a rich man can no more enter 
heaven than a camel pass through the eye of a needle, i.e. that 
it is impossible for him to do so. Whereas, in the previous 
sentence, Christ says not that it is impossible, but difficult 
(&vartc6\w<;) for him to do so. It is difficult for a man to use his 
money for the service of God, the only purpose for which it was 
given him, and the difficulty increases in proportion to its 
amount. But wealth in itself is no more a bar to -heaven than 



THE CAMEL. 



243 



intellect, health, strength, or any other gift, and, if it be rightly 
used, is one of the most powerful tools that can be used : u the 
service of God. Our Lord did not condemn all wealthy men 
alike. He knew many ; but there was only one whom He 
advised to sell his possessions and give them to the poor as the 
condition of being admitted among the disciples. 




CIA MEL IMITOG THROUGH A "KIEDLK'S EYE." 

ft L> uour for <i camel to gn through the eye of a medic, than for a rich mav to inter into tu< 
kingdom of (Jod." — Matt. xix. 24 



We will now turn to the metaphor of the Camel and the 
needle's eye. Of course it can be taken merely as a very bold 
metaphor, but it may also be understood in a simpler sense, the. 
sense in which it was probably understood by those who heard 
it. In Oriental cities, there are in the large gates small and 
very low apertures called metaphorically " needle's-eyes," just 
as we talk oi certain windows as " bull's-eyes." These entrances 
arc too naiTOw for a Camel to pass through them in the ordinary 
manner, or even if loaded. When a laden Camel has to' pass 
through one of these entrances, it kneels down, its load is 



244 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

removed, and then it shuffles through on its knees. " Yesterday," 
writes Lady Duff-Gordon from Cairo, "I saw a camel go through 
the eye of a needle, i.e. the low-arched door of an enclosure. He 
must kneel, and bow his head to creep through ; and thus the 
rich man nmst humble himself." 

There is another passage in which the Camel is used by our 
Lord in a metaphorical sense. This is the well-known sentence : 
•' Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" 
(Matt, xxiii. 24). It is remarkable that an accidental misprint 
has robbed this passage of its true force. The real translation 
is : " which strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel." The 
Greek word is BwXl^co, which signifies to filter thoroughly ; and 
the allusion is made to the pharisaical custom of filtering liquids 
before drinking them, lest by chance a gnat or some such insect 
which was forbidden as food might be accidentally swallowed. 



THE BACTRIAN CAMEL. 



General description of the animal — Its use in mountain roads — Peculiar formation 
of the foot — Uses of a mixed, breed — Its power of enduring cold— Used chiefly 
as a beast of draught — Unfitness for the plough — The cart and mode of harness- 
ing — The load which it can draw — Camel-skin ropes — A Rabbinical legend. 



The second kind of Camel — namely, the Bactrian species — was 
probably unknown to the Jews until a comparatively late portion 
of their history. This species was employed by the Assyrians, 
as we find by the sculptures upon the ruins, and if in no other 
way the Jews would become acquainted with them through the 
nation by whom they were conquered, and in whose land they 
abode for so long. 

The Bactrian Camel is at once to be distinguished from that 
which has already been described by the two humps and the 
clumsier and sturdier form. Still the skeletons of the Bactrian 
and Arabian species are so similar that none but a very skilful 
anatomist can distinguish between them, and several learned 



THE BACTRIAN CAMEL. 245 

zoologists have expressed an opinion, in which I entirely coin- 
cide, that the Bactrian and Arabian Camels are but simple 
varieties of one and the same species, not nearly so dissimilar 
us the greyhound and the bulldog. 

Unlike the one-humped Camel, the Bactrian species is quite at 
home in a cold climate, and walks over ice as easily as its con- 
vener does over smooth stone. It is an admirable rock-climber, 
and is said even to surpass the mule in the sureness of its tread. 
This quality is probably occasioned by the peculiar structure of 
the foot, which has an elongated toe projecting beyond the soft 
pad, and forming a sort of claw. In the winter time the riders 
much prefer them to horses, because their long legs enable them 
to walk easily through snow, in which a horse could only plunge 
helplessly, and would in all probability sink and perish. 

A mixed breed of the one-humped and the Bactrian animals is 
thought to be the best for hill work in winter time, and General 
Harlan actually took two thousand of these animals in winter 
time for a distance of three hundred and sixty miles over the 
snowy tops of the Indian Caucasus ; and though the campaign 
lasted for seven months, he only lost one Camel, and that 
was accidentally killed. Owing to its use among the hills, the 
Bactrian species is sometimes called the Mountain Camel. 

It very much dislikes the commencement of spring, because 
the warm mid-day sun slightly melts the surface of the snow, 
and the frost of night converts it into a thin plate of ice. When 
the Camel walks upon this semi-frozen snow, its feet plunge 
into the soft substratum through the icy crust, against which its 
legs are severely cut. The beginning of the winter is liable to 
the same objection. 

The mixed breed which has just been mentioned must be 
procured from a male Bactrian and a female Arabian Camel. If 
the parentage be reversed, the offspring is useless, being weak, 
ill-tempered, and disobedient. 

The Bactrian Camel is, as has been mentioned, tolerant of 
cold, and is indeed so hardy an animal that it bears the severest 
winters without seeming to suffer distress, and has been seen 
quietly feeding when the thermometer has reached a tempera- 
ture several degrees below zero. Sometimes, when the cold is 
more than usually sharp, the owners sew a thick cloth round its 
body, but even in such extreme cases the animal is left to find 



246 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



its own food as it best can. And, however severe the weather 
may be, the Ractrian Camel never sleeps under a roof. 

This Camel is sometimes employed as a beast of burden, but 
its general use is for draught. It is not used for the plough, be- 
cause it has an uncertain and jerking mode of pulling, and does 
not possess the steady dragging movement which is obtained by 
the use of the horse or ox. 




UrtCIHIAN <:AMKI. 

He sav> a chariot of camels." — Isaiah xxi. 7 



It is almost invariably harnessed to carts, and always in pairs. 
The mode of yoking the animals is as simple as can well be 
conceived. A pole runs between them from the front of the 
vehicle, and the Camels are attached to it by means of a pole 
which passes over their necks. Oxen were harnessed in a 
similar manner. It was probably one of these cars or chariots 



THE BACTRIAN CAMEL. 247 

that was mentioned by Isaiah in his prophecy respecting 
Assyria : — " And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a 
chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels " (Isa. xxi. 7). The cars 
themselves are as simple as the mode of harnessing them, being 
almost exactly like the ox carts which have already been 
described. 

The weight which can be drawn by a pair of these Camels is 
really considerable. On a tolerably made road a good pair of 
Camels are expected to draw from twenty-six to twenty-eight 
hundred weight, and to continue their labours for twenty or 
thirty successive days, traversing each day an average of thirty 
miles. It is much slower than the Arabian Camel, seldom going 
at more than two and a half miles per hour. If, however, the 
vehicle to which a pair of Bactrians are harnessed were well 
made, the wheels truly circular, and the axles kept greased so as 
to diminish the friction, there is no doubt that the animals could 
draw a still greater load to longer distances, and with less 
trouble to themselves. As it is, the wheels are wretchedly 
fitted, and their ungreased axles keep up a continual creaking 
that is most painful to an unaccustomed ear, and totally un- 
heeded by the drivers. 

The hair of the Bactrian Camel is long, coarse, and strong; 
and, like that of the Arabian animal, is made into rough cloth. 
It is plucked off by hand in the summer time, when it naturally 
becomes loose in readiness for its annual renewal, and the weight 
of the entire crop of hair ought to be about ten pounds. The 
skin is not much valued, and is seldom used for any purpose 
except for making ropes, straps, and thongs, and is not thought 
worth the trouble of tanning. The milk, like that of the 
Arabian animal, is much used for food, but the quantity is very 
trifling, barely two quarts per diem being procured from each 
Camel. 

There is bat little that is generally interesting in the Babbi- 
nical writers on the Camel. They have one proverbial saying 
upon the shortness of its ears. When any one makes a request 
that is likely to be refused, they quote the instance of the 
Camel, who, it seems, was dissatisfied with its appearance, and 
asked for horns to match its long ears. The result of the re- 
quest was, that it was deprived of its ears, and got no horns. 



248 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE HORSE. 

The Hebrew words which signify the Horse — The Horse introduced into Palestin 
from Egypt — Similarity of the war-horse of Scripture and the Arab horse of 
the present day — Characteristics of the Horse — Courage and endurance of the 
Horse — Hardness of i-ts unshod hoofs — Love of the Arab for his Horse —Diffi- 
culty of purchasing the animal — The Horse prohibited to the Israelites — 
Solomon's disregard of the edict— The war-chariot, its form and use — Probable 
construction of the iron chariot — The cavalry Horse — Lack of personal interest 
in the animal. 

Several Hebrew words are used by the various Scriptural 
writers to signify the Horse, and, like our own terms of horse, 
mare, pony, charger, &c, are used to express the different quali- 
ties of the animal. The chief distinction of the Horse seemed 
to lie in its use for riding or driving, the larger and heavier 
animals being naturally required for drawing the weighty spring- 
less chariots. The chariot horse was represented by the word 
Sus, and the cavalry horse by the word Par ash, and in several 
passages both these words occur in bold contrast to each other. 
See, for example, 1 Kings iv. 26, &c. 

Among the many passages of Scripture in which the Horse is 
mentioned, there are few which do not treat of it as an adjunct 
of war, and therefore it is chiefly in that light that we must 
regard it. 

The Horse of the Scriptures was evidently a similar animal 
to the Arab Horse of the present day, as we find not only from 
internal evidence, but from the sculptures and paintings which 
still remain to tell us of the vanished glories of Egypt and 
Assyria. It is remarkable, by the way, that the first mention of 
the Horse in the Scriptures alludes to it as an Egyptian animal. 
During the terrible famine which Joseph had foretold, the 
Egyptians and the inhabitants of neighbouring countries were 
unable to find food for themselves or fodder for their cattle, and, 
accordingly, they sold all their beasts for bread. "And they 



THE HORSE. 249 

brought their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread 
in exchange for horses and the flocks, and for the cattle of herds, 
and for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their cattle 
for that year." 

This particular breed of Horses is peculiarly fitted for the 
purposes of war, and is much less apt for peaceful duties than 
the heavier and more powerful breeds, which are found in dif- 
ferent parts of the world. It is remarkable for the flexible 
agility of its movements, which enable it to adapt itself to 
every movement of the rider, whose intentions it seems to divine 
by a sort of instinct., and who guides it not so much by the 
bridle as by the pressure of the knees and the voice. Examples 
of a similar mode of guidance may be seen on the well-known 
frieze of the Parthenon, where, in the Procession of Horsemen, 
the riders may be seen directing their steeds by touching the 
side of the neck with one finger, thus showing their own skill 
and the well-trained quality of the animals which they ride. 

Its endurance is really wonderful, and a horse of the Koch- 
lani breed will go through an amount of work which is almost 
incredible. Even the trial by which a Horse is tested is so 
severe, that any other animal would be either killed on the spot 
or ruined for life. When a young mare is tried for the first 
time, her owner rides hei foi some fifty or sixty miles at full 
speed, always finishing by swimming her through a river. After 
this trial she is expected to feed freely ; and should she refuse 
her food, she is rejected as an animal unworthy of the name of 
Kochlani. 

Partly from native qualities, and partly from constant associa- 
tion with mankind, the Arab Horse is a singularly intelligent 
animaL In Europe we scarcely give the Horse credit for the 
sensitive intelligence with which it is endowed, and look upon 
it rather as a machine for draught and carriage than a com- 
panion to man. The Arab, however, lives with his horse, and 
finds in it the docility and intelligence which we are accus- 
tomed to associate with the dog rather than the Horse. It 
will follow him about and come at his call. It will stand 
for any length of time and await its rider without moving. 
Should he fall from its back, it will stop and stand patiently 
by him until he can remount ; and there is a well-authenticated 
instance of an Arab Horse whose master had been wounded in 



250 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

battle, taking him up by his clothes and carrying him away to a 
place of safety. 

Even in the very heat and turmoil of the combat, the true 
Arab Horse seems to be in his true element, and fully deserves 
the splendid eulogium in the Book of Job (xxxix. 19 — 25) : 
" Hast thou given the horse strength ? hast thou clothed his 
neck with thunder? 

" Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper ? the glory 
of his nostrils is terror. 

" He paveth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength : he 
goeth on to meet the armed men. 

"He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth 
he back from the sword. 

" The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the 
shield. 

" He walketh the ground with fierceness and rage : neither 
believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 

" He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; and he smelleth the 
battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting." 

In another passage an allusion is made to the courage of the 
Horse, and its love for the battle. " I hearkened and heard, but 
they spake not aright : no man repented him of his wickedness, 
saying, Wnat have T done ? Every one turned to his course, as 
the horse rusheth into the battle." (Jer. viii. 6.) Even in the 
mimic battle of the djereed the Horse seems to exult in the con- 
flict as much as his ridor, and wheels or halts almost without 
the slightest intimation. 

The hoofs of the Arab Horses are never shod, their owners 
thinking that that act is not likely to improve nature, and even 
among the burning sands and hard rocks the Horse treads with 
unbroken hoof. In such a climate, indeed, an iron shoe would 
be worse than useless, as it would only scorch the hoof by day ; 
and in consequence of the rapid change of temperature by day or 
night, the continual expansion and contraction of the metal would 
soon work the nails loose, and cause the shoe to fall off. 

A tender-footed Horse would be of little value, and so we 
often find in the Scriptures that the hardness of the hoof is 
reckoned among one of the best qualities of a Horse. See, for 
example, Isa. v. 28 : " Whose arrows are sharp, and all their 
bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and 



THE HORSE. 251 

(heir wheels like a whirlwind." Again, in Micah iv. 13 : " Arise 
and thresh, daughter of Zion : for I will make thine horn 
iron, and I will make thy hoots brass : and thou shalt beat in 
pieces many people/' Allusion is here made to one mode of 
threshing, in which a number of Horses were turned into the 
threshing-floor, and driven about at random among the wheat, 
instead of walking steadily like the oxen. 

In Judges v. 22 there is a curious allusion to the hoofs of 
the Horse. It occurs in the Psalm of Thanksgiving sung by 
Deborah and Barak after the death of Sisera : " Then were the 
horse-hoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings 
of their mighty ones." It is easy now to see that these words 
infer a scornful allusion to the inferiority of the enemy's Horses, 
inasmuch as the hoofs of the best Horses would be " counted as 
flint," and would not be broken by the prancings. 

Horses possessed of the qualities of courage, endurance, and 
sureness of foot are naturally invaluable; and even at the 
present day the Arab warrior esteems above all things a Horse 
of the purest breed, and, whether he buys or sells one, takes care 
to have its genealogy made out and hung on the animal's neck. 

As to the mare, scarcely any inducement is strong enough to 
make an Arab part with it, even to a countryman, and the sale 
of the animal is hindered by a number of impediments which 
in point of fact are almost prohibitory. Signor Pierotti, whose 
long residence in Palestine has given him a deep insight into 
the character of the people, speaks in the most glowing terms 
of the pure Arab Horse, and of its inestimable value to its 
owner. Of the difficulties with which the sale of the animal is 
surrounded, he gives a very amusing account : — 

" After this enumeration of the merits of the horse, I will 
describe the manner in which a sale is conducted, choosing the 
case of the mare, as that is the more valuable animal. The price 
varies with the purity of blood of the steed, and the fortunes of 
its owner. When he is requested to fix a value, his first reply is, 
' It is yours, and belongs to you, I am your servant ; ' because, 
perhaps, he does not think that the question is asked with 
any real design of purchasing ; when the demand is repeated, he 
either makes no answer or puts the question by ; at the third 
demand he generally responds rudely w T ith a sardonic smile, 
which is not a pleasant thing to see, as it is a sign of anger ; and 



252 BIBLK ANIMALS. 

then says that he would sooner sell his family than his mare. 
This remark is not meant as a mere jest ; for it is no uncommon 
thing for a Bedawy to give his parents as hostages raiher than 
separate himself from his friend. 

" If, however, owing to some misfortune, he determines un 
selling his mare, it is very doubtful whether he or his parents 
will allow her to leave their country without taking the pre- 
caution to render her unfit for breeding. 

" There are many methods of arranging the sale, all of which 
I should like to describe particularly ; however, I will confine 
mycelf to a general statement. Before the purchaser enters upon 
the question of the price to be paid, he must ascertain that the 
parents, friends, and allies of the owners give their consent to 
the sale, without which some difficulty or other may arise, or 
perhaps the mare may be stolen from her new master. He must 
also obtain an unquestionable warranty that she is fit for breed- 
ing purposes, and that no other has a prior claim to any part of 
her body. This last precaution may seem rather strange, but it 
arises from the following custom. It sometimes happens that, 
when a Bedawy is greatly in want of money, he raises it most 
easily by selling a member of his horse ; so that very frequently 
a horse belongs to a number of owners, one of whom has pur- 
chased the right fore-leg, another the left, another the hind-leg, 
or the tail, or an ear, or the like; and the proprietcrs have each a 
proportionate interest in the profits of its labour or sale. 

" So also the offspring are sold in a similar manner ; some- 
times only the first-born, sometimes the first three ; and then it 
occasionally happens that two or three members of the foal are, 
as it were, mortgaged. Consequently, any one who is ignorant 
of this custom may find that, after he has paid the price of the 
mare to her supposed owner, a third person arises who demands 
to be paid the value of his part ; and, if the purchaser iefuse to 
comply, he may find himself in a very unpleasant situation, 
without any possibility of obtaining help from the local govern- 
ment. Whoever sells his mare entirely, without reserving to 
himself one or two parts, must be on good terms with the confe- 
derate chiefs in the neighbourhood, and must have obtained theii 
formal sanction, otherwise they would universally despise him. 
and .perhaps lie in wait to kill him, so that his only hope of 
escape would be a disgraceful flight, just as if he had committed 




WAB HOUSE, 

He saitu among tne trumpets, Ha. Ha; and he emelleih the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains 

tti'.I the shouting.' - — Job x.wi.x. 25. 



THE HORSE. 253 

some great crime. It is an easier matter to purchase a stallion ; 
but even in this case the above formalities must be observed. 

"These remarks only apply to buying horses of the purest 
blood ; those of inferior race are obtained without difficulty, and 
at fair prices." 

For some reason, perhaps the total severance of the Israelites 
from the people among whom they had lived so long in cap- 
tivity, the use of the Horse, or, at all events, the breeding of it, 
was forbidden to the Israelites ; see Deut. xvi. 16. After 
prophesying that the Israelites, when they had settled them- 
selves in the Promised Land, would want a king, the inspired 
writer next ordains that the new king must be chosen by 
Divine command, and must belong to one of the twelve tribes. 
He then proceeds as follows : — " But he shall not multiply 
horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to 
the end that he should multiply horses : forasmuch as the Lord 
hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that 
way." 

The foresight of this prophetical writer was afterwards shown 
by the fact that many kings of Israel did send to Egypt for 
Horses, Egypt being the chief source from which these animals 
were obtained. And, judging from the monuments to which 
reference has been made, the Horse of Egypt was precisely the 
same animal as the Arab Horse of the present day, and was 
probably obtained from nomad breeders. 

In spite of the prohibitory edict, both David and Solomon 
used Horses in battle, and the latter supplied himself largely 
from Egypt, disregarding as utterly the interdict against plu- 
rality of Horses as that against plurality of wives, which 
immediately follows. 

David seems to have been the first king who established a 
force of chariots, and this he evidently did for the purpose of 
action on the flat grounds of Palestine, where infantry were at a 
great disadvantage when attacked by the dreaded chariots ; yet 
he did not controvert the law by multiplying to himself Horses, 
or even by importing them from Egypt ; and when he had an 
opportunity of adding to his army an enormous force of chariots, 
he only employed as many as he thought were sufficient for his 
purpose. After he defeated Hadadezer, and had taken from 
him a thousand chariots with their Horses, together with seven 



V 

254 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

hundred cavalry, he houghed all the Horses except those which 
were needed for one hundred chariots. 

Solomon, however, was more lax, and systematically broke 
the ancient law by multiplying Horses exceedingly, and sending 
to Egypt for them. We learn from 1 Kings iv. 26 of the enor- 
mous establishment which lie kept up both for chariots and 
cavalry. Besides those which were given to him as tribute, he 
purchased both chariots and their Horses from Egypt and Syria, 
the chariots being delivered at the rate of six hundred shekels 
of silver, and the Horses for an hundred and fifty shekels. 

Chariots were far more valued in battle than horsemen, pro- 
bably because their weight made their onset irresistible against 
infantry, who had no better weapons than bows and spears. 
The slingers themselves could make little impression on the 
chariots; and even if the driver, or the warrior who fought in 
the chariot, or his attendant, happened to be killed, the weighty 
machine, with its two Horses, still went on its destructive way. 

Of their use in battle we find very early mention. For 
example, in Exod. xiv. 6 it is mentioned that Pharaoh made ready 
his chariot to pursue the Israelites ; and in a subsequent part 
of the same chapter we find that six hundred of the Egyptian 
chariot force accompanied their master in the pursuit, and that 
the whole army was delayed because the loss of the chariot 
wheels made them drive heavily. 

Then in the familiar story of Sisera and Jael the vanquished 
general is mentioned as alighting from his chariot, in which he 
would be conspicuous, and taking flight on foot; and, after his 
death, his mother is represented as awaiting his arrival, and 
saying to the women of the household, " Why is his chariot so 
long in coming ? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot ? " 

During the war of conquest which Joshua led, the chariot 
plays a somewhat important part. As long as the war was 
carried on in the rugged mountainous parts of the land, no men- 
tion of the chariot is made ; but when the battles had to be 
fought on level ground, the enemy brought the dreaded chariots 
to bear upon the Israelites. In spite of these adjuncts, Joshua 
won the battles, and, unlike David, destroyed the whole of the 
Horses and burned the chariots. 

Many years afterwards, a still more dreadful weapon, the iron 
chariot, was used against the Israelites by Jabin. This new 



THE HOUSE. 255 

instrument of war seems to have cowed the people completely ; 
for we find that by means of his nine hundred chariots of iron 
Jabin "mightily oppressed the children of Israel" for twenty 
years. It has been well suggested that the possession of the 
war chariot gave rise to the saying of Benhadad's councillors, 
that the gods of Israel were gods of the hills, and so their army 
had been defeated ; but that if the battle were fought in the 
plain, where the chariots and Horses could act, they would be 
victorious. 

So dreaded were these weapons, even by those who were 
familiar with them and were accustomed to use them, that when 
the Syrians had besieged Samaria, and had nearly reduced it by 
starvation, the fancied sound of a host of chariots and Horses 
that they heard in the night caused them all to flee and evacuate 
the camp, leaving their booty and all their property in the hands 
of the Israelites. 

Whether the Jews ever employed the terrible scythe chariots 
is not quite certain, though it is probable that they may have 
done so ; and this conjecture is strengthened by the fact that 
they were employed against the Jews by Antiochus ; who had 
" footmen an hundred and ten thousand, and horsemen five 
thousand and three hundred, and elephants two and twenty, and 
three hundred chariots armed with hooks" (2 Mace. xiii. 2). 
Some commentators think that by the iron chariots mentioned 
above were signified ordinary chariots armed with iron scythes 
projecting from the sides. 

By degrees the chariot came to be one of the recognised forces 
in war, and we find it mentioned throughout the books of the 
Scriptures, not only in its literal sense, but as a metaphor which 
every one could understand. In the Psalms, for example, are 
several allusions to the war-chariot, " He maketh wars to cease 
unto the end of the earth ; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the 
spear in sunder ; He burnetii the chariot in the fire " (Ps. xlvi. 9). 
Again : " At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and 
horse are cast into a dead sleep" (Ps. lxxvi. 6). And: " Some 
trust in chariots, and some in horses : but we will remember the 
name of the Lord our God " (Ps. xx. 7). Now, the force of these 
passages cannot be properly appreciated unless we realize to 
ourselves the dread in which the war-chariot was held by the 
foot-soldiers. Even cavalry were much feared ; but the chariots 



256 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

were objects of almost superstitious fear, and the rushing sound 
of their wheels, the noise of the Horses' hoofs, and the shaking 
of the ground as the "prancing horses and jumping chariots" 
(Nah. iii. 2) thundered along, are repeatedly mentioned. 

See, for example, Ezek. xxvi. 10 : " By reason of the abundance 
of his horses their dust shall cover thee : thy walls shall shake 
at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the 
chariots." Also, Jer. xlvii. 3 : "At the noise of the stamping of 
the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, 
and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look 
back to their children for feebleness of hands." See also Joel 
ii. 4, 5 : " The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses ; 
and as horsemen, so shall they run. 

" Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall 
they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the 
stubble, as a strong people set in battle array." 

In several passages the chariot and Horse are used in bold 
imagery as expressions of Divine power : " The chariots of God 
are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : the Lord is 
among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place" (Ps. lxviii. 17). A 
similar image is employed in Ps. civ. 3 : " Who maketh the 
clouds His chariot : who walketh upon the wings of the wind." 
In connexion with these passages, we cannot but call to mind 
that wonderful day when the unseen power of the Almighty 
was made manifest to the servant of Elisha, whose eyes were 
suddenly opened, and he saw that the mountain waa full of 
Horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

The chariot and horses of tire by which Elijah was taken from 
earth are also familiar to us, and in connexion with the passage 
which describes that wonderful event, we may mention one 
which occurs in the splendid prayer of Habakkuk (iii. 8) : " Was 
the Lord displeased against the rivers ? was Thine anger against 
the rivers ? was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride 
upon Thine horses and Thy chariots of salvation ? " 

By degrees the chariot came to be used for peaceful purposes, 
and was employed as our carriages of the present day, in carry- 
ing persons of wealth. That this w T as the case in Egypt from 
very early times is evident from Gen. xli. 43, in which we are 
told that after Pharaoh had taken Joseph out of prison and 
raised him to be next in rank to himself, the king caused him to 



THE HORSE. 257 

ride in the second chariot which he had, and so to be pro- 
claimed ruler over Egypt. Many years afterwards we find him 
travelling in his chariot to the land of Goshen, whither he 
went to meet Jacob and to conduct him to the presence of 
Pharaoh. 

At first the chariot seems to have been too valuable to the 
Israelites to have been used for any purpose except war, and it is 
not until a comparatively late time that we find it employed as 
a carriage, and even then it is only used by the noble and 
wealthy. Absalom had such chariots, but it is evident that he 
used them for purposes of state, and as appendages of his regal 
rank. Chariots or carriages were, however, afterwards employed 
by the Israelites as freely as by the Egyptians, from whom they 
were originally procured ; and accordingly we find Eehoboam 
mounting his chariot and fleeing to Jerusalem, Ahab riding in 
his chariot from Samaria to Jezreel, with Elijah running before 
him ; and in the New Testament we read of the chariot in 
which sat the chief eunuch of Ethiopia whom Philip baptized 
(Acts viii. 28). 

As to the precise form and character of these chariots, they are 
made familiar to us by the sculptures and paintings of Egypt and 
Assyria, from both of which countries the Jews procured the 
vehicles. Differing very slightly in shape, the principle of the 
chariot was the same ; and it strikes us with some surprise that 
the Assyrians, the Egyptians, and the Jews, the three wealthiest 
and most powerful nations of the world, should not have in- 
vented a better carriage. They lavished the costliest materials and 
the most artistic skill in decorating the chariots, but had no idea 
of making them comfortable for the occupants. 

They were nothing but semicircular boxes on wheels, and of 
very small size. They were hung very low, so that the occu- 
pants could step in and out without trouble, though they do not 
seem to have had the sloping floor of the Greek or Eoman 
chariot. They had no springs, but, in order to render the jolting 
of the carriage less disagreeable, the floor was made of a sort of 
network of leathern ropes, very tightly stretched so as to be 
elastic. The wheels were always two in number, and generally 
had six spokes. 

To the side of the chariot was attached the case which con- 
tained the bow and quiver of arrows, and in the case of a rich 
18 



258 BIBLE ANIMALS 

man these bow-cases were covered with gold and silver, and 
adorned with figures of lions and other animals. Should the 
chariot be intended for two persons, two bow-cases were fastened 
to it, the one crossing the other. The spear had also its tubular 
case, in which it was kept upright, like the whip of a modern 
carriage. 

Two Horses were generally used with each chariot, though 
three were sometimes employed. They were harnessed very 
simply, having no traces, and being attached to the central pole 
by a breast-band, a very slight saddle, and a loose girth. On 
their heads were generally fixed ornaments, such as tufts of 
feathers, and similar decorations, and tassels hung to the harness 
served to drive away the flies. Eound the neck of each Horse 
passed a strap, to the end of which was attached a bell. This 
ornament is mentioned in Zech. xiv. 20 : " In that day shall 
there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord " 
— i.e. the greeting of peace shall be on the bells of the animals 
once used in war. 

Sometimes the owner drove his own chariot, even when going 
into battle, but the usual plan was to have a driver, who managed 
the Horses while the owner or occupant could fight with both 
his hands at liberty. In case he drove his own Horse, the reins 
passed round his waist, and the whip was fastened to the wrist 
by a thong, so that when the charioteer used the bow, his prin- 
cipal weapon, he could do so without danger of losing his whip. 

Thus much for the use of the chariot in war ; we have now 
the Horse as the animal ridden by the cavalry. 

As was the case with the chariot, the war-horse was not 
employed by the Jews until a comparatively late period of their 
history. They had been familiarized with cavalry during their 
long sojourn in Egypt, and in the course of their war of conquest 
had often suffered defeat from the horsemen of the enemy. But 
we do not find any mention of a mounted force as forming 
part of the Jewish army until the days of David, although 
after that time the successive kings possessed large forces 
of cavalry. 

Many references to mounted soldiers are made by the prophets, 
sometimes allegorically, sometimes metaphorically. See, for 
example, Jer. vi. 23 : " They shall lay hold on bow and spear ; 
they arc cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the 



THE HORSE. 259 

sea ; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war 
against thee, daughter of Zion." The same prophet has a 
similar passage in chap. 1. 42, couched in almost precisely the 
same words. And in chap. xlvi. 4, there is a further reference 
to the cavalry, which is specially valuable as mentioning the 
weapons used by them. The first call of the prophet is to the 
infantry : " Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to 
battle " (verse 3) ; and then follows the command to the cavalry, 
" Harness the horses ; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth 
with your helmets ; furbish the spears, and put on the brigan- 
dines." The chief arms of the Jewish soldier were therefore 
the cuirass, the helmet, and the lance, the weapons which in all 
ages, and in all countries, have been found to be peculiarly 
suitable to the horse-soldier. 

Being desirous of affording the reader a pictorial representa- 
tion of the war and state chariots, I have selected Egypt as the 
typical country of the former, and Assyria of the latter. Both 
drawings have been executed with the greatest care in details, 
every one of which, even to the harness of the Horses, the mode 
of holding the reins, the form of the whip, and the offensive 
and defensive armour, has been copied from the ancient records 
of Egypt and Nineveh. 

We will first take the war-chariot of Egypt. 

This form has been selected as the type of the war-chariot, 
because the earliest account of such a force mentions the war- 
chariots of Egypt, and because, after the Israelites had adopted 
chariots as an acknowledged part of their army, the vehicles, as 
well as the trained Horses, and probably their occupants, were 
procured from Egypt. 

The scene represents a battle between the imperial forces and 
a revolted province, so that the reader may have the oppor- 
tunity of seeing the various kinds of weapons and armour 
which were in use in Egypt at the time of Joseph. In the 
foreground is the chariot of the general, driven at headlong 
speed, the Horses at full gallop, and the springless chariot leaping 
off the ground as the Horses bound along. The royal rank of the 
general in question is shown by the feather fan which denotes 
his high birth, and which is fixed in a socket at the back of his 
chariot, much as a coachman fixes his whip. The rank of the 



260 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



rider is further shown by the feather plumes on the heads of his 

Horses. 

By the side of the chariot are seen the quiver and bow- 
case, the former being covered with decorations, and having 
the figure of a recumbent lion along its sides. The simple 




GYPTIAN WAR-CHARTOT3. 



"■Coma up. ye horses: and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty me?i come forth." — Jeu. xlvi. 3 
" The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and 
o f the jumping chariots." — N ahum iii. 'I. 

"Like the noise of chariots ... shall they leap. " — Jof.i. ii. :>. 



but effective harness of the Horses is especially worthy of 
notice, as showing how the ancients knew, better than the 
moderns, that to cover a Horse with a complicated apparatus 
of straps and metal only deteriorates from the powers of the 
animal, and that a Horse is more likely to bphave well if he 



THE HORSE. 261 

can see freely on all sides, than if all lateral vision be cut off by 
the use of blinkers. 

Just behind the general is the chariot of another officer, one 
of whose Horses has been struck, and is lying struggling on the 
ground. The general is hastily giving his orders as he dashes 
past the fallen animal. On the ground are lying the bodies of 
some slain enemies, and the Horses are snorting and shaking 
their heads, significative of their unwillingness to trample on a 
human being. By the side of the dead man are his shield, bow, 
and quiver, and it is worthy of notice that the form of these 
weapons, as depicted upon the ancient Egyptian monuments, is 
identical with that which is still found among several half-savage 
tribes of Africa. 

In the background is seen the fight raging round the standards. 
One chief has been killed, and while the infantry are pressing 
round the body of the rebel leader and his banner on one side, 
on the other the imperial chariots are thundering along to 
support the attack, and are driving their enemies before thein. 
In the distance are seen the clouds of dust whirled into the air 
by the hoofs and wheels, and circling in clouds by the eddies 
caused by the fierce rush of the vehicles, thus illustrating the 
passage in Jer. iv. 13 : " Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and 
his chariots shall be as a whirlwind : his horses are swifter than 
eagles. Wop unto us ! for we are spoiled." The reader will see, 
by reference to the illustration, how wonderfully true and forcible 
is this statement, the writer evidently having been an eye-witness 
of the scene which he so powerfully depicts.. 

The second scene is intentionally chosen as affording a strong 
contrast to the former. Here, instead of the furious rush, the 
galloping Horses, the chariots leaping off the ground, the 
archers bending their bows, and all imbued with the tierce ardour 
of battle, we have a scene of quiet grandeur, the Assyrian king 
making a solemn progress in his chariot after a victory, accom- 
panied by his attendants, and surrounded by his troops, in all 
the placid splendour of Eastern state. 

Chief object in the illustration stands the great king in his 
chariot, wearing the regal crown, or mitre, and sheltered from 
the sun by the umbrella, which in ancient Nineveh, as in more 
modern times, was the emblem of royalty. By his side is Ins 



262 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



charioteer, evidently a man of high rank, holding the reins in a 
business-like manner; and in front, marches the shield-bearer. 
In one of the scnlptures from which this illustration was com- 
posed, the shield-bearer was clearly a man of rank, fat, fussy, 
full of importance, and evidently a portrait of some well-known 
individual. 




ASS7KIAN CHARIOT OF STATE. 



Then shall there c>iter into the gates of this city, kings and princes sitting upon the throne a/ 
David, riding in chariots." — Jkr. xvii. 20. 



The Horses are harnessed with remarkable lightness, but they 
bear the gorgeous trappings which befit the rank of the rider, 
their heads being decorated with the curious successive plumes 
with which the Assyrian princes distinguished their chariot 
Horses, and the breast-straps being adorned with tassels, repeated 
in successive rrws like the plumes of the head 



THE HOKSE. 263 

The reader will probably notice the peculiar high action of the 
Horses. This accomplishment seems to have been even more 
valued among the ancients than by ourselves, and some of the 
sculptures show the Horses with their knees almost touching 
their noses. Of course the artist exaggerated the effect that 
he wanted to produce ; but the very fact of the exaggeration 
shows the value that was set on a high and showy action in a 
Horse that was attached to a chariot of state. The old Assyrian 
sculptors knew the Horse well, and delineated it in a most 
spirited and graphic style, though they treated it rather conven- 
tionally. The variety of attitude is really wonderful, considering 
that all the figures are profile views, as indeed seemed to have 
been a law of the historical sculptures. 

Before closing this account of the Horse, it may be as well 
to remark the singular absence of detail in the Scriptural 
accounts. Of the other domesticated animals many such 
details are given, but of the Horse we hear but little, except in 
connexion with war. There are few exceptions to this rule, and 
even the oft-quoted passage in Job, which goes deeper into the 
character of the Horse than any other portion of the Scriptures, 
only considers the Horse as an auxiliary in battle. We miss the 
personal interest in the animal which distinguishes the many 
references to the ox, the sheep, and the goat; and it is 
remarkable that even in the Book of Proverbs, which is so 
rich in references to various animals, very little is said of the 
Horse. 



264 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE ASS. 

Importance of the Ass in the East — Its general use for the saddle — Riding 
the Ass not a mark of humility — The triumphal entry — White Asses — 
Character of the Scriptural Ass — Saddling the Ass — The Ass used in agricul- 
ture — The Ass's millstone— The water-wheel and the plough— Reminiscences 
of the Ass in the Scriptural narrative — Its value as property — The flesh of 
the Ass — The siege of Samaria and its horrors — Various legends respecting the 
Ass — The impostor and his fate — Samson and Balaam. 

In the Scriptures we read of two breeds of Ass, namely, the 
Domesticated and the Wild Ass. As the former is the more 
important of the two, we will give it precedence. 

In the East, the Ass has always played a much more 
important part than among us Westerns, and on that account we 
find it so frequently mentioned in the Bible. In the first place, 
it is the universal saddle-animal of the East. Among us the 
Ass has ceased to be regularly used for the purposes of the 
saddle, and is only casually employed by holiday-makers and the 
like. Some persons certainly ride it habitually, but they almost 
invariably belong to the lower orders, and are content to ride 
without a saddle, balancing themselves in some extraordinary 
manner just over the animal's tail. In the East, however, it is 
ridden by persons of the highest rank, and is decorated with 
saddle and harness as rich as those of the horse. 

In England we should be very much surprised to see a royal 
prince, a judge, or a bishop travelling habitually on a donkey, 
but in Palestine it is just the animal which would be considered 
most appropriate for the purpose. For example, we find that 
Abraham, an exceptionally wealthy man, and a chief of high 
position, made use of the Ass for the saddle. It was on an Ass 
that he travelled when he made his three days' journey from 
Beersheba to Moriah, when he was called to prove his faith by 
sacrificing Isaac (see Gen. xxii. 3). 



THE ASS. 265 

Then in Judges x. 3, 4, we find that riding upon the Ass is 
actually mentioned as a mark of high rank. " And after him 
arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 
"And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they 
had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair nnto this day, 
which are in the land of Gilead." So here we have the curious 
fact, that the sacred historian thinks it worth while to mention 
that ureat men, the sons of the chief man of Israel, each of them 
being ruler over a city, rode upon Ass colts. In the same book, 
xii. 13, 14, we have a similar record of Abdon, the judge who 
preceded Samson. " After him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pira- 
thonite, judged Israel. 

"And he had forty sons and thirty nephews" (or grandsons 
according to some translators) "that rode on threescore and ten 
ass colts : and he judged Israel eight years." 

Thus we see that, so far from the use of the Ass as a saddle- 
animal being a mark of humility, it ought to be viewed in pre- 
cisely the opposite light. In consequence of the very natural 
habit of reading, according to Western ideas, the Scriptures, 
which are books essentially Oriental in all their allusions and 
tone of thought, many persons have entirely perverted the sense of 
one very familiar passage, the prophecy of Zechariah concerning 
the future Messiah. " Eejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; shout, 
daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy King cometh unto thee : 
He is just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass. 
and upon a colt the foal of an ass " (Zech. ix. 9). 

Now this passage, as well as the one which describes its ful- 
filment so many years afterwards, has often been seized upon as 
a proof of the meekness and lowliness of our Saviour, in riding 
upon so humble an animal when He made His entry into Jeru- 
salem. The fact is, that there was no humility in the case, 
neither was the act so understood by the people. He rode upon 
an Ass as any prince or ruler would have done who was engaged 
on a peaceful journey, the horse being reserved for war purposes. 
He rode on the Ass, and not on the horse, because He was the 
Prince of Peace and not of war, as indeed is shown very clearly 
in the context. For, after writing the words which have just 
been quoted, Zechariah proceeds as follows (ver. 10) : " And I 
will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jeru- 
salem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak 



260 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

peace unto the heathen : and His dominion shall be from sea 
even to sea ; and from the river even to the ends of the earth." 

Meek and lowly was He, as became the new character, 
hitherto unknown to the warlike and restless Jews, a Prince, 
not of war, as had been all other celebrated kings, but of peace. 
Had He come as the Jews expected — despite so many pro- 
phecies — their Messiah to come, as a great king and conqueror, 
He might have ridden the war-horse, and been surrounded with 
countless legions of armed men. But He came as the herald of 
peace, and not of war; and, though meek and lowly, yet a 
Prince, riding as became a prince, on an Ass colt which had 
borne no inferior burden. 

That the act was not considered as one of lowliness is evident 
from the manner in which it was received by the people, 
accepting Him as the Son of David, coming in the name of the 
Highest, and greeting Him with the cry of " Hosanna ! " 
(" Save us now,") quoted from verses 25, 26 of Ps. cxviii. : 
" Save now, I beseech Thee, Lord : Lord, I beseech Thee, 
send now prosperity." 

"Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord." 

The palm-branches which they strewed upon the road were 
not chosen by the attendant crow r d merely as a means of doing 
honour to Him whom they acknowledged as the Son of David. 
They were necessarily connected with the cry of " Hosanna ! " 
At the Feast of Tabernacles, it was customary for the people to 
assemble with branches of palms and willows in their hands, 
and for one of the priests to recite the Great Hallel, i.e. Ps. cxiii. 
and cxviii. At certain intervals, the people responded with 
the cry of " Hosanna ! " waving at the same time their palm- 
branches. For the whole of the seven days through whi( h the 
feast lasted they repeated their Hosannas, always accompanying 
the shout with the waving of palm- branches, and setting them 
towards the altar as they went in procession round it. 

Every child who cou'ld hold a palm-branch was expected to 
take part in the solemnity, just as did the children on the occa- 
sion of the triumphal entry. By degrees, the name of Hosanna 
was transferred to the palm-branches themselves, as well as to 
the feast, the last day being called the Great Hosanna. 

The reader will now see the importance of this carrying of 
palm-branches, accompanied with Hosannas, and that those who 



THE ASS. 267 

used them in honour of Him whom they followed into Jerusalem 
had no idea that He was acting any lowly part. 

Again, the action of the disciples in putting their mantles on 
the Ass., and setting their Master upon them, was one that 
signified their acknowledgment of Him as their Prince ; and 
the same idea was typified by the laying of the clothes upon 
the road, together with the palm-branches. Compare also the 
passage in 2 Kings ix. 13. When Elisha sent the young prophet 
to call Jehu from among the council, and to anoint him King of 
Israel, the act of anointing was performed in a private chamber. 
Jehu, scarcely realizing the import of the act, seemed to think 
it a trick played upon him by some of his companions, the com- 
manding officers of the army. When, however, they heard his 
account of the interview with the prophet, they at once accepted 
him as their king, and, as token thereof, " they hasted, and took 
every man his garment, and put it under him at the top of the 
stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king." 

White Asses were selected for persons of high rank, especially 
for those who exercised the office of judges. See Judges v. 10 : 
" Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and 
walk by the way." Such Asses are still in use for similar pur- 
poses, and are bred expressly for the use of persons of rank. 
They are larger, and are thought to be swifter, than the ordinary 
breeds ; but they are by no means hardy animals, and are said 
to be unsuitable for places near the sea-coast. 

Both sexes used the Ass for riding, as they do now in the 
East. See for example Judges i. 14, where we find that 
Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, rode on an Ass when she went 
to ask her father to give her some springs of water, in addition 
to the land which he had previously given her as a dowry. 
Later in the Scriptural history we read that Abigail, the wife of 
the wealthy churl Nabal, rode to meet David on an Ass, when 
she went to deprecate his anger against her husband (1 Sam. 
xxv. 23). And, still later, the woman of Shunem, who acted so 
hospitably towards Elisha, rode on an Ass to meet him when her 
child had died from sunstroke in the field (see 2 Kings iv. 24). 

Now all these women were of high rank, and certainly neither 
of them would have considered that riding on an As was an act 
of humility. We will cite them in succession, and begin with 
Achsah. She was the daughter of one of the most illustrious of 



268 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the Israelites, a man of whom we read as being almost the equal 
of Joshua, one of the illustrious two who were included in the 
special exemption from the punishment of rebellion. Moreover, 
Caleb was a man of enormous territorial possessions, as we find 
from several passages in the Old Testament ; a man who was 
able to give to his daughter not only a large amount of land as 
a dowry, but also the wells or springs which multiplied its 
value tenfold. 

Next we come to the case of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who 
himself belonged to the family of Caleb, and probably owed his 
wealth simply to the accident of his birth. It is related of 
Nabal, that his "possessions were in Carmel, and the man was 
very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand 
goats." Yet his wife, who undoubtedly ruled her household as 
a housewife should do, and who was thought worthy of becoming 
David's wife after the death of her cowardly husband, rode on 
an Ass when she went on a mission in which life and death were 
involved. 

And lastly, the woman of Shunem, who rode on an Ass to 
meet Elisha, engaged in a mission in which the life of her only 
child was involved, was a woman of great wealth (2 Kings iv. 8), 
who was able not only to receive the prophet, but to build a 
chamber, and furnish it for him. 

Not to multiply examples, we see from these passages that 
the Ass of the East was held in comparatively high estimation, 
being used for the purposes of the saddle, just as would a high- 
bred horse among ourselves. 

Consequently, the Ass is really a different animal. In this 
country he is repressed, and seldom has an opportunity for dis- 
playing the intellectual powers which he possesses, and which 
are of a much higher order than is generally imagined. It is 
rather remarkable, that when we wish to speak slightingly of 
intellect we liken the individual to an Ass or a goose, not 
knowing that we have selected just the quadruped and the bird 
which are least worthy of such a distinction. 

Putting aside the bird, as being at present out of place, we 
shall find that the Ass is one of the cleverest of our domesticated 
animals. We are apt to speak of the horse with a sort of re- 
verence, and of the Ass with contemptuous pity, not knowing 
that, of the two animals, the Ass is by far the superior in point 



THE ASS. 



269 



of intellect. It has been well remarked by a keen observer of 
nature, that if four or five horses are in a field, together with 
one Ass, and there be an assailable point in the fence, the Ass 
is sure to be the animal that discovers it, and leads the way 
through it. 




SYRIAN ASSES. 

1 A bridle for the ass." Prov xxvi. 



Take even one of our own toil-worn animals, turned out in a 
common to graze, and see the ingenuity which it displays when 
persecuted by the idle boys who generally frequent such places, 
and who try to ride every beast that is within their reach. It 
seems to divine at once the object of the boy as he steals up to 
it, and he takes a pleasure in baffling him just as he fancies that 
lie has succeeded in his attempt. 



270 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Should the Ass be kindly treated, there is not an animal that 
proves more docile, or even affectionate. Stripes and kicks it 
resents, and sets itself distinctly against them; and, being nothing 
but a slave, it follows the slavish principle of doing no work that 
it can possibly avoid. 

Now, in the East the Ass takes so much higher rank than 
our own animal, that its whole demeanour and gait are different 
from those displayed by the generality of its brethren in England. 
" Why, the very slave of slaves," writes Mr. Lowth, in his " Wan- 
derer in Arabia," " the crushed and grief-stricken, is so no more 
in Egypt : the battered drudge has become the willing servant. 
Is that active little fellow, who, with race-horse coat and full 
flanks, moves under his rider with the light step and the action 
of a pony — is he the same animal as that starved and head- 
bowed object of the North, subject for all pity and cruelty, and 
clothed with rags and insult ? 

" Look at him now. On he goes, rapid and free, with his 
small head well up, and as gay as a crimson saddle and a bridle 
of light chains and red leather can make him. It was a glad- 
dening sight to see the unfortunate as a new animal in Egypt." 

Hardy animal as is the Ass, it is not well adapted for tolerance 
of cold, and seems to degenerate in size, strength, speed, and 
spirit in proportion as the climate becomes colder. Whether it 
might equal the horse in its endurance of cold provided that it 
were as carefully treated, is perhaps a doubtful point ; but it is 
a well-known fact that the horse does not necessarily degenerate 
by moving towards a colder climate, though the Ass has always 
been found to do so. 

There is, of course, a variety in the treatment which the Ass 
receives even in the East. Signor Pierotti, whose work on the 
customs and traditions of Palestine has already been mentioned, 
writes in very glowing terms of the animal. He states that he 
formed a very high opinion of the Ass while he was in Egypt, 
not only from its spirited aspect and its speed, but because it 
was employed even by the Viceroy and the great Court officers, 
who may be said to use Asses of more or less intelligence for 
every occasion. He even goes so far as to say that, if all the 
Asses were taken away from Egypt, not a man would be left. 

The same traveller gives an admirable summary of the cha- 
racter of the Ass, as it exists in Egypt and Palestine. " What, 



THE ASS. 271 

then, are the characteristics of the ass ? Much the same as those 
which adorn it in ther parts of the East — namely, it is useful for 
riding and for carrying burdens ; it is sensible of kindness, and 
shows gratitude ; it is very steady, and is larger, stronger, and 
more tractable than its European congener; its pace is easy 
and pleasant ; and it will shrink from no labour, if only its poor 
daily feed of straw and barley is fairly given. 

" If well and liberally supplied, it is capable of any enterprise, 
and wears an altered and dignified mien, apparently forgetful of 
its extraction, except when undeservedly beaten by its masters, 
who, however, are not so much to be blamed, because, having 
learned to live among sticks, thongs, and rods, they follow the 
same system of education with their miserable dependants. 

* The wealthy feed him well, deck him with fine harness and 
silver trappings, and cover him, when his work is done, with 
rich Persian carpets. The poor do the best they can for him, 
steal for his benefit, give him a corner at their fireside, and in 
cold weather sleep with him for more warmth. In Palestine, all 
the rich men, whether monarchs or chiefs of villages, possess 
a number of asses, keeping them with their flocks, like the 
patriarchs of old. No one can travel in that country, and observe 
how the ass is employed for all purposes, without being struck 
with the exactness with which the Arabs retain the Hebrew 
customs." 

The result of this treatment is, that the Eastern Ass is an 
enduring and tolerably swift animal, vying with the camel itself 
in its powers of long-continued travel, its usual pace being a 
sort of easy canter. On rough ground, or up an ascent, it is said 
even to gain on the horse, probably because its little sharp hoofs 
give it a firm footing where the larger hoof of the horse is liable 
to slip. 

The familiar term "saddling the Ass" requires some little 
explanation. 

The saddle is not in the least like the article which we know 
by that name, but is very large and complicated in structure. 
Over the animal's back is first spread a cloth, made of thick 
woollen stuff, and folded several times. The saddle itself is a 
very thick pad of straw, covered with carpet, and flat at the top, 
instead of being rounded as is the case with our saddles. The 
pommel is very high, and when the rider is seated on it, he is 



272 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

perched high above the back of the animal. Over the saddle is 
thrown a cloth or carpet, always of bright colours, and varying 
in costliness of material and ornament according to the wealth 
of the possessor. It is mostly edged with a fringe and tassels. 

The bridle is decorated, like that of the horse, with bells, 
embroidery, tassels, shells, and other ornaments. An example 
of the headstall worn hy an Ass belonging to a wealthy man 
may be seen in the illustration. 

Ac we may see from 2 Kings iv. 24, the Ass was generally 
guided by a driver who ran behind it, just as is the custom with 
the hired Asses in this country. Owing to the unchanging 
character of the East, there is no doubt that the " riders on 
asses " uf the Scriptures rode exactly after the mode which is 
adopted at the present day. What that mode is, we may learn 
from Mr. Bayard Taylor's amusing and vivid description of a 
ride through the streets of Cairo : — 

" To see Cairo thoroughly, one must first accustom himself to 
the ways of these long-eared cabs, without the use of which T 
would advise no one to trust himself in the bazaars. Donkey- 
riding is universal, and no one thinks of going beyond the Frank 
quarters on foot. If he does, he must submit to be followed by 
not less than six donkeys with their drivers. A friend of mine 
who was attended by such a cavalcade for two hours, was obliged 
to yield at last, and made no second attempt. When we first 
appeared in the gateway of an hotel, equipped for an excursion, 
the rush of men and animals was so great that we were forced 
to retreat until our servant and the porter whipped us a path 
through the yelling and braying mob. After one or two trials 
I found an intelligent Arab boy named Kish, who for five 
piastres a day furnished strong and ambitious donkeys, which 
he kept ready at the door from morning till night. The other 
drivers respected Kish's privilege, and henceforth I had no 
trouble. 

" The donkeys are so small that my feet nearly touched the 
ground, but there is no end to their strength and endurance. 
Their gait, whether in pace or in gallop, is so easy and light 
that fatigue is impossible. The drivers take great pride in 
harving high-cushioned red saddles, and in hanging bits of 
jingling brass to the bridles. They keep their donkeys close 
shorn, and frequently beautify them by painting them various 



THE ASS. 273 

colours. The first animal I rode had legs barred like a zebra's, 
and my friend's rejoiced in purple flanks and a yellow beily. The 
drivers ran behind them with a short stick, punching them from 
time to time, or giving them a sharp pinch on the rump. Very 
few of them own their donkeys, and I understood their perti 
nacity when I learned that they frequently received a beating 
on returning home empty-handed. 

" The passage of the bazaars seems at first quite as hazardous 
on donkey-back as on foot ; but it is the difference between 
knocking somebody down and being knocked down yourself, 
and one certainly prefers the former alternative. There is no 
use in attempting to guide the donkey, for he won't be guided. 
The driver shouts behind, and you are dashed at full speed into 
a confusion of other donkeys, camels, horses, carts, water-carriers, 
and footmen. Tn vain you cry out ' Bess ' (enough), ' Piacco,' 
and other desperate adjurations ; the driver's only reply is : ' Let 
the bridle hang loose ! ' You dodge your head under a camel-load 
of planks ; your leg brushes the wheel of a dust-cart ; you strike 
a fat Turk plump in the back ; you miraculously escape up- 
setting a fruit-stand ; you scatter a company of spectral, white- 
masked women ; and at last reach some more quiet street, with 
the sensations of a man who has stormed a battery. 

" At first this sort of riding made me very nervous, but pre- 
sently I let the donkey go his own way, and took a curious 
interest in seeing how near a chance I ran of striking or being- 
struck. Sometimes there seemed no hope of avoiding a violent 
collision; but, by a series of the most remarkable dodges, he 
generally carried you through in safety. The cries of the driver 
running behind gave me no little amusement. 'The hawadji 
comes ! Take care on the right hand ! Take care on the left 
hand ! man, take care ! maiden, take care ! boy, get out of 
the way ! The hawadji comes ! ' Kish had strong lungs, and his 
donkey would let nothing pass him; and so wherever w T e went we 
contributed our full share to the universal noise and confusion." 

This description explains several allusions which are made 
in the Scriptures to treading down the enemies in the streets, 
and to the chariots raging and jostling against each other in 
the ways. 

The Ass was used in the olden time for carrying burdens, as 
it is at present, and, in all probability, carried them in the same 
19 



274 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

way. Sacks and bundles are tied firmly to the pack-saddle ; but 
poles, planks, and objects of similar shape are tied in a sloping 
direction on the side of the saddle, the longer ends trailing on 
the ground, and the shorter projecting at either side of the 
animal's head. The North American Indians carry the poles of 
their huts, or wigwams, in precisely the same way, tying them 
on either side of their horses, and making them into rude sledges, 
upon which are fastened the skins that form the walls of their 
huts. The same system of carriage is also found among che 
Esquimaux, and the hunters of the extreme North, who harness 
their dogs in precisely the same manner. The Ass, thus laden, 
becomes a very unpleasant passenger through the narrow and 
crowded streets of an Oriental city; and many an unwary tra- 
veller has found reason to remember the description of Issachar 
as the strong Ass between two burdens. 

The Ass was also used for agriculture, and was employed in 
the plough, as we find from many passages. See for example, 
" Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither 
the feet of the ox and the ass " (Isa. xxxii. 20). Sowing beside 
the waters is a custom that still prevails in all hot countries, 
the margins of rivers being tilled, while outside this cultivated 
belt there is nothing but desert ground. 

The ox and the Ass were used in the first place for irrigation, 
turning the machines by which water was lifted from the river, 
and poured into the trenches which conveyed it to ail parts of 
the tilled land. If, as is nearly certain, the rude machinery of 
the East is at the present day identical with those which were 
used in the old Scriptural times, they were yoked to the machine 
in rather an ingenious manner. The machine consists of an 
upright pivot, and to it is attached the horizontal pole to which 
the ox or Ass is harnessed. A machine exactly similar in prin- 
ciple may be seen in almost any brick-field in England ; but the 
ingenious part of the Eastern water-machine is the mode in 
which the animal is made to believe that it is being driven by 
its keeper, whereas the man in question might be at a distance. 
or fast asleep. 

The animal is first blindfolded, and then yoked to the end of the 
horizontal bar. Eixed to the pivot, and rather in front of the bar, 
is one end of a slight and elastic strip of wood. The projecting 
end, being drawn forward and tied to the bridle of the animal, 



THE ASS. 275 

keeps up a continual pull, and makes the blinded animal believe 
that it is being drawn forward by the hand of a driver. Some 
ingenious but lazy attendants have even invented a sort of self- 
acting whip, i.e. a stick which is lifted and allowed to fall 
on the animal's back "by the action of the wheel once every 
round. 

The field being properly supplied with water, the Ass is used 
for ploughing it. It is worthy of mention that at the present 
day the prohibition against yoking an ox and an Ass together is 
often disregarded. The practice, however, is not a judicious one, 
as the slow and heavy ox does not act well with the lighter and 
more active animal, and, moreover, is apt to butt at its com- 
panion with its horns in order to stimulate it to do more than its 
fair proportion of the work. 

That the Ass was put to a similar use in turning the large 
millstones may be seen from Matt, xviii. 6. In the Authorized 
Version, the passage is rendered thus : " But whoso shall offend 
one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for 
him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he 
were drowned in the depth of the sea." 

Now if we turn to the Greek Testament we find that the 
passage reads rather differently, a force being giving to it which 
it does not possess in the translation : " But whosoever shall 
scandalize [i.e. be a stumbling-block to] one of these little ones 
that believe in Me, it were better for him that an ass's millstone 
were hung about his neck, and he were sunk in the depth of the 
sea." The chief force of this saying lies in the word which is 
omitted in our translation. Our Lord specially selected the 
Ass's millstone on account of its size and weight, in contradis- 
tinction to the ordinary millstone, which was turned backwards 
and forwards by the hands of women. 

There is a custom now in Palestine which probably existed 
in the days of the Scriptures, though 1 have not been able to find 
any reference to it. Whenever an Ass is disobedient and strays 
from its master, the man who captures the trespasser on his 
grounds clips a piece out of its ear before he returns it to its 
owner. Each time that the animal is caught on forbidden 
grounds it receives a fresh clip of the ear. By looking at 
the ears of an Ass, therefore, any one can tell whether it has 
ever been a straggler ; and if so, he knows the number of times 



276 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

tha 1 it has strayed, by merely counting the clip-marks, which 
always begin at the tip of the ear, and extend along the edges. 
Any Ass, no matter how handsome it may be, that has many of 
those clips, is always rejected by experienced travellers, as it is 
sure to be a dull as well as a disobedient beast. 

Signor Pierotti remarks that if the owners of the Asses were 
treated similarly for similar offences, the greater number would 
be marked as soon as they begin to walk, and of the adults there 
would be scarcely one who had any ear on his head. 

The Ass being so universally useful, we need not be surprised 
at the prominence which it takes in the Scriptural narrative, and 
the frequency with which its name occurs. The wealthy person- 
ages of the olden time seemed to have esteemed the Ass as 
highly as the camel, the ox, the sheep, or the goat. Abraham, 
for example, is described as being a rich man, and possessing 
" sheep, and oxen, and he- asses, and men-servants, and maid- 
servants, and she-asses, and camels " (Gen. xii. 16). In a succeed- 
ing chapter (xxx. 43) the prosperity of Jacob is mentioned in 
almost exactly the same terms. 

So, before Job's trials came upon him, "his substance was 
seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five 
hundred yoke of oxen [i.e. 1,000], and five hundred she-asses, 
and a very great household ; so that this man was the greatest 
of all the men of the east" (Job i. 3). And after his trials, when 
his wealth was restored to him twofold, the thousand she-asses 
are mentioned as prominently as the thousand yoke of oxen. 

That the care of the Asses was an honourable post we learn 
from several passages. Take for example Gen. xxxvi. 24 : " And 
these are the children of Zibeon ; both Ajah, and Anah : this 
was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed 
the asses of Zibeon his father." The charge of the Asses 
was, as the reader must see, a post of sufficient honour and im- 
portance to be trusted to the son of the owner. A similar case 
is recorded in the well-known instance of Saul, whose father 
had lost his herd of Asses, and who at once sent his son upon 
the important mission of recovering them. And it was during 
the fulfilment of this mission that he was anointed the first 
king of Israel. 

Later in the sacred history we find that when David consoli- 
dated his power, and organized the affairs of his new kingdom, 



THE ASS. 277 

he divided the people in general, the army, the land, the pro- 
duce, and the cattle, into departments, and appointed over each 
department some eminent man whose name is carefully given. 
After mentioning that the people and the army were divided 
into "courses," and that certain officers were set over each 
course, the sacred historian proceeds to state that one officer 
was appointed as overseer of the treasury, another of the 
granaries, another of the field-labourers, another over the vine- 
yards, and so forth. He then mentions that even the cattle 
were divided into their several departments, the care of the 
hill-cattle being given to one man, and of the cattle of the 
plain to another, of the camels to a third, and of the Asses to 
a fourth. 

It is scarcely necessary to mention that the flesh of the Ass 
was forbidden to the Jews, because the animal neither chewed 
the cud nor divided the hoof. How repulsive to them must 
have been the flesh of the Ass we may infer from the terrible 
description of the siege of Samaria by Benhadad. The sacred 
historian describes with painful fidelity the horrors of the 
siege, and of the dreadful extremity to which the people were 
reduced. No circumstance could be more terrible than the 
quarrel between the two mothers, who had mutually agreed to 
kill and eat their children, and yet on a par with that dread- 
ful statement is mentioned the fact that even the flesh of the 
Ass was eaten, and that an Ass's head cost eighty pieces of 
silver. 

Whether the milk of the she Ass were used or not is rather 
a doubtful point, but, in all probability, the milk was considered 
as lawful food, though the flesh might not Oe eaten. 

As to the legends respecting the Ass, they are innumerable, 
and I shall only mention one or two of them. 

The first is an old Eabbinical legend respecting the Flood and 
the admission of the creatures into the ark. It appears that no 
being could enter the ark unless specially invited to do so by 
Noah. Now when the Flood came, and overwhelmed the world, 
the dsvil, who was at that time wandering upon the earth, saw 
that he was about to be cut off from contact from mankind, and 
that his dominion would be for ever gone. The ark being at 
last completed, and the beasts called to enter it in their proper 
order, the turn of the Ass came in due course. 



278 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Unfortunately for the welfare of mankind, the Ass was taken 
with a fit of obstinacy, and refused to enter the vessel according 
to orders. After wasting much time over the obstinate animal, 
Noah at last lost patience, and struck the Ass sharply, crying at 
the same time to it, " Enter, thou devil \" Of course the invita- 
tion was at once accepted, the devil entered the ark, and on the 
subsiding of the water issued out to take his place in the newly 
begun world. 

Since the Christian era, many curious legends have sprung 
up respecting the Ass. One of the most familiar of these 
legends refers to the black stripe along the spine and the cross- 
bar over the shoulder. This black cross is really believed by 
many persons to have been given to the animal in consequence 
of its connexion with our Lord. I need hardly tell the reader 
that it is the remnant of the stripes which in the zebra cover 
he animal from head to foot, which in the quagga cover the 
Head, body, and part of the limbs, and which in one species of 
Wild Ass are not seen at all in the adult animal. 

There is another Christian legend respecting the Ass of Pales- 
tine, which is thought to owe its superiority in size, swiftness, 
and strength to the fact that it helped to warm the infant Saviour 
in the manger, that it carried Him and His mother into Egypt 
and back again, and that it was used by the Lord himself and 
His disciples. Any one who ventures to hint that the Ass of 
Palestine owes its superiority over its European brother to the 
warmer climate, is thought to be a heretic by the pious but 
ignorant men who believe and disseminate such legends. 

Signor Pierotti tells a story of a certain Eussian monk who 
happened to visit Palestine, and in the course of his travels 
found the leg- bone of an Ass, which he took back with him and 
publicly exhibited as part of the identical animal on which the 
Virgin Mary and infant Saviour rode. (I need scarcely mention 
that there, is no mention in the Scriptures of the fact that the 
Holy Family rode upon an Ass ; though such a mode of travel 
was certainly the one which they would adopt.) For some 
time, this deception drew for the impostor many gifts from the 
superstitious but pious people, but the affair at last reached 
the ears of his superiors, and he paid the deserved penalty of 
his trickery. 



THE WILD ASS. 279 

There are recorded in the Scriptures two remarkable circum- 
stances connected with the Ass, which, however, need but a lew 
words. The first is the journey of Balaam from Pethor to Moab, 
in the course of which there occurred that singular incident of 
the Ass speaking in human language (see Numb. xxii. 21, 35). 
The second is the well-known episode in the story of Samson, 
where he is recorded as breaking the cords with which his 
enemies had bound him, and killing a thousand Philistines with 
the fresh jaw-bone of an Ass. 



THE WILD ASS. 



The Arod and Pere of Scripture — Various allusions to the Wild Ass — Its swiftness 
and wildness — The Wild Ass of Asia and Africa — Knowledge of the animal 
displayed by the cacred writers — How the Wild Ass is hunted — Excellence of 
its flesh — Sir R. K. Porter's meeting with a Wild Ass — Origin of the domestic 
Ass — The Wild Asses of Quito. 



There are several passages of Scripture in which the Wild Ass 
is distinguished from the domesticated animal, and in all of 
them there is some reference made to its swiftness, its intract- 
able nature, and love of freedom. 

In the Hebrew Scriptures there are two words which are 
given in the Authorized Translation as Wild Ass, namely, Arod 
and Pere, and it is rather remarkable that both words occur in 
the same passage. If the reader will refer to Job xxxix. 5, 
he will see the following passage : " Who hath sent out the wild 
ass (Pere) free ? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass 
(Arod) ? " Now there are only two places in the whole Hebrew 
Scriptures in which the word Arod occurs, and there are many 
doubts whether the word Arod is rightly translated. The first 
is that which has just been quoted, and the second occurs in 
Dan. v. 21 : "And he was driven from the sons of men; and 
his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with 
the wild asses." 



280 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The Jewish Bible translates the word differently in the two 
passages. That in Job it renders as follows : " Who hath sent 
forth the wild ass free ? or who hath loosed the bands of the 
untamed ? " In the other passage, however, it follows the 
rendering of the Authorized Version, and gives the word as 
" wild asses." It is thought by several scholars that the two 
words refer to two different species of Wild Ass. It may be so, 
but as the ancient writers had the loosest possible ideas regard- 
ing distinction of species, and as, moreover, it is very doubtful 
whether there be any real distinction of species at all, we may 
allow the subject to rest, merely remembering that the rendering 
of the Jewish Bible, " the untamed," is a correct translation 
of the word Arod, though the particular animal to which it is 
applied may be doubtful. 

We will now pass to the word about which there is no doubt 
whatever, namely, the Pere. This animal is clearly the species 
which is scientifically known as Asinus hemippus. During the 
summer time it has a distinct reddish tinge on the grey coat, 
which disappears in the winter, and the cross streak is black. 
There are several kinds of Wild Ass known to science, all of 
which have different names. Some of our best zoologists, how- 
ever, have come to the conclusion that they all really belong to 
the same species, differing only in slight points of structure 
which are insufficient to constitute separate species. 

The habits of the Wild Ass are the same, whether it be the 
Asiatic or the African animal, and a description of one will 
answer equally well for the other. It is an astonishingly swift 
animal, so that on the level ground even the best horse has 
scarcely a chance of overtaking it. It is exceedingly wary, its 
sight, hearing, and sense of scent being equally keen, so that to 
approach it by craft is a most difficult task. 

Like many other wild animals, it has a custom of ascending 
bills or rising grounds, and ihence surveying the country, and 
even in the plains it win generally contrive to discover some 
earth-mound or heap of sand from which it may act as sentinel 
and give the alarm in case of danger. It is a gregarious animal, 
always assembling in herds, varying from two or three to several 
hundred in number, and has a habit of partial migration in 
search of green food, traversing large tracts of country in its 
passage. 



THE WILD ASS. 281 

It has a curiously intractable disposition, and, even when 
captured very young, can scarcely ever be brought to bear a 
burden or draw a vehicle. Attempts have been often made to 
domesticate the young that have been born in captivity, but 
with very slight success, the wild nature of the animal con- 
stantly breaking out, even when it appears to have become 
modern tely tractable. 

Although the Wild Ass does not seem to have lived within the 
limits of the Holy Land, it was common enough in the sur- 
rounding country, and, from the frequent references made to it in 
Scriptures, was well known to the ancient Jews. We will now 
look at the various passages in which the Wild Ass is men- 
tioned, and begin with the splendid description in Job xxxix. 
5-8: 

" Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed 
the bands of the wild ass ? 

" Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren 
lands (or salt places) his dwellings. 

■ He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he 
the crying of the driver. 

" The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he search eth 
after every green thing." 

Here w r e have the animal described with the minuteness and 
truth of detail that can only be found in personal knowledge ; 
its love of freedom, its avoidance of mankind, and its migration 
in search of pasture. Another allusion to the pasture-seeking 
habits of the animal is to be found in chapter vi. of the same 
book, verse 5 : " Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass ? " or, 
according to the version of the Jewish Bible, "over tender 
grass ?" 

The same author has several other allusions to the Wild Ass. 
See, for example, chap. xi. 12 : " For vain man would be wise, 
though man be born like a wild ass's colt." And in chap. xxiv. 5, 
in speaking of the wicked and their doings, he uses the follow- 
ing metaphor : " Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they 
forth to their work ; rising betimes for a prey : the wilderness 
yieldeth food for them and their children," or for the young, 
as the passage may be more literally rendered. The same 
migratory habit is also mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah 
(chap. xiv. 6) : " And the wild asses did stand in the high places, 



282 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

they snuffed up the wind like dragons ; their eyes did fail, 
because there was no grass." There is another allusion to it in 
Hosea viii. 9 : " For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass 
alone by himself." 

Even in the earliest times of Jewish history we find a refer- 
ence to the peculiar nature of this animal. In Gen. xvi. 12 
it is prophesied of Ishmael, that " he will be a wild man ; 
his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand 
against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his 
brethren." Now the real force of this passage is quite missed 
in the Authorized Version, the correct rendering being given in 
the Jewish Bible : " And he will be a wild ass (Pere) among 
men ; his hand will be against ail, and the hand of all against 
him, and in the face of all his brethren he shall dwell." 

Allusion is made to the speed of the animal in Jer. ii. 24: 
" A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuff eth up the wind 
at her pleasure ; in her occasion who can turn her away ? all 
they that seek her will not weary themselves ; in her month 
they shall find her." The fondness of the Wild Ass for the 
desert is mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, Foretelling the deso- 
lation that was to come upon the land, he uses these words : 
" Because the palaces shall be forsaken, the multitude of the 
city shall be left ; the forts and towers shall be for dens (or 
caves) for ever, and a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks." 

These various qualities of speed, wariness, and dread of man 
cause the animal to be exceedingly prized by hunters, who find 
their utmost skill taxed in approaching it. Men of the highest 
rank give whole days to the hunt of the Wild Ass, and vie with 
each other for the honour of inflicting the first wound on so 
fleet an animal. With the exception of the Jews, the inha- 
bitants of the countries where the Wild Ass lives eat its flesh, 
and consider it as the greatest dainty which can be found. 

A very vivid account of the appearance of the animal in its 
wild state is given by Sir E. Kerr Porter, who was allowed by 
a Wild Ass to approach within a moderate distance, the animal 
evidently seeing that he was not one of the people to whom it 
was accustomed, and being curious enough to allow the stranger 
to approach him. 

"The sun was just rising over the summit of the eastern 
mountains, when my greyhound started off in pursuit of an 




THE WILD ASS. 
"As wild asses in the desert go they forth."— Job xxiv. 5. 



THE WILD ASS. 283 

animal which, my Persians said, from the glimpse they had of 
it, was an antelope. I instantly put spurs to my horse, and 
with my attendants gave chase. After an unrelaxed gallop of 
three miles, we came up with the dog, who was then within a 
short stretch of the creature he pursued; and to my surprise, 
and at first vexation, I saw it to be an ass. 

" Upon reflection, however, judging from its fleetness that it 
must be a wild one, a creature little known in Europe, but which 
the Persians prize above all other animals as an object of chase, 
J determined to approach as near to it as the very swift Arab I 
was on could carry me. But the single instant of checking my 
horse to consider had given our game such a head of us that, 
notwithstanding our speed, we could not recover our ground 
on him. 

"I, however, happened to be considerably before my com- 
panions, when, at a certain distance, the animal in its turn made 
a pause, and allowed me to approach within pistol-shot of him. 
He then darted off again with the quickness of thought, capering, 
kicking, and sporting in his flight, as if he were not blown in 
the least, and the chase was his pastime. When my followers 
of the country came up, they regretted that I had not shot the 
creature when he was within my aim, telling me that his flesh 
is one of the greatest delicacies in Persia. 

" The prodigious swiftness and the peculiar manner in which 
he fled across the plain coincided exactly with the description 
that Xenophon gives of the same animal in Arabia. But above 
all, it reminded me of the striking portrait drawn by the author 
of the Book of Job. I was informed by the Mehnander, who 
had been in the desert when making a pilgrimage to the shrine 
of Ali, that the wild ass of Irak Arabi differs in nothing from 
the one I had just seen. He had observed them often for a 
short time in the possession of the Arabs, who told him the 
creature was perfectly untameable. 

" A few days after this discussion, we saw another of these 
animals, and, pursuing it determinately, had the good fortune 
to kill it." 

It has been suggested by many zoologists that the Wild Ass 
is the progenitor of the domesticated species. The origin of the 
domesticated animal, however, is so very ancient, that we have 



284 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

no data whereon even a theory can be built. It is true that the 
Wild and the Domesticated Ass are exactly similar in appear- 
ance, and that an Asinus hemippus, or Wild Ass, looks so like an 
Asiatic Asinus vulgaris, or Domesticated Ass, that by the eye 
alone the two are hardly distinguishable from each other. But 
with their appearance the resemblance ends, the domestic animal 
being quiet, docile, and fond of man, while the wild animal is 
savage, intractable, and has an invincible repugnance to human 
beings. 

This diversity of spirit in similar forms is very curious, and 
is strongly exemplified by the semi-wild Asses of Quito. They 
are the descendants of the animals that were imported by the 
Spaniards, and live in herds, just as do the horses. They com- 
bine the habits of the Wild Ass with the disposition of the tame 
animal. They are as swift of foot as the Wild Ass of Syria or 
Africa, and have the same habit of frequenting lofty situations, 
leaping about among rocks and ravines, which seem only fitted 
for the wild goat, and into which no horse can follow them. 

Nominally, they are private property, but practically they 
may be taken by any one who chooses to capture them. The 
lasso is employed for the purpose, and when the animals are 
caught they bite, and kick, and plunge, and behave exactly like 
their wild relations of the Old World, giving their captors infinite 
trouble in avoiding the teeth and hoofs which they wield so 
skilfully. But, as soon as a load has once been bound on the 
back of one of these furious creatures, the wild spirit dies 
out of it, the head droops, the gait becomes steady, and the 
animal behaves as if it had led a domesticated life all its days. 



THE MULE. 285 



THE MULE. 

Ancient use of the Mules — Various breeds of Mule — Supposed date of its introduc- 
tion into Palestine — Mule-breeding forbidden to the Jews— The Mule as 
a saddle-animal— Its use on occasions of state — The king's Mule— Mules 
brought from Babylon after the captivity— Obstinacy of the Mule— The Mule 
as a beast of burden — The " Mule's burden " of earth — Mules imported by the 
Phoenicians — Legends respecting the Mule. 

There are several references to the Mule in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, but it is remarkable that the animal is not mentioned at 
all until the time of David, and that in the New Testament the 
name does not occur at all. 

The origin of the Mule is unknown, but that the mixed breed 
between the horse and the ass has been employed in many 
countries from very ancient times is a familiar fact. It is a very 
strange circumstance that the offspring of these two animals 
should be, for some purposes, far superior to either of the 
parents, a well-bred Mule having the lightness, surefootedness, 
and hardy endurance of the ass, together with .the increased size 
and muscular development of the horse. Thus it is peculiarly 
adapted either for the saddle or for the conveyance of burdens 
over a rough or desert country. 

The Mules that are most generally serviceable are bred from 
the male ass and the mare, those which have the horse as the 
father and the ass as the mother being small, and comparatively 
valueless. At the present day, Mules are largely employed in 
Spain and the Spanish dependencies, and there are some breeds 
which are of very great size and singular beauty, those of 
Andalusia being especially celebrated. In the Andes, the Mule 
has actually superseded the llama as a beast of burden. 

Its appearance in the sacred narrative is quite sudden. In 
Gen. xxxvi. 24, there is a passage which seems as if it referred 
to the Mule : " This was that Anah that found the mules in the 
wilderness." Now the word which is here rendered as Mules is 



286 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



" Yemim," a word which is not found elsewhere in the Hebrew 
Scriptures. The best Hebraists are agreed that, whatever in- 
terpretation may be put upon the word, it cannot possibly have 
the signification that is here assigned to it. Some translate 
the word as " hot springs," while the editors of the Jewish Bible 







MULES OF THE EAST. 

Be ye not at, ih», horse and mule, which have no understanding. " — Psai.m xxxii. 9 



prefer to leave it untranslated, thus signifying that they are not 
satisfied with any rendering. 

The word which is properly translated as Mule is " Pered ; " 
and the first place where it occurs is 2 Sam. xiii. 29. Absalom 
had taken advantage of a sheep-shearing feast to kill his brother 
Amnon in revenge for the insult offjred to Tamar : " And the 
servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had com- 



THE MULE. 287 

manded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him 
up upon his mule, and lied." It is evident from this passage 
that the Mule must have been in use for a considerable time, 
as the sacred writer mentions, as a matter of course, that the 
king's sons had each his own riding mule. 

Farther on, chap, xviii. 9 records the event which led to 
the death of Absalom by the hand of Joab. " And Absalom 
Hint the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, 
and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and 
his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between 
the heaven and the earth ; and the mule that was under him 
went away." 

We see by these passages that the Mule was held in such 
high estimation that it was used by the royal princes for the 
saddle, and had indeed superseded the ass. In another passage 
we .shall find that the Mule was ridden by the king himself 
when he travelled in state, and that to ride upon the king's 
Mule was considered as equivalent to sitting upon the king's 
throne. See, for example, 1 Kings i. in which there are several 
passages illustrative of this curious fact. See first, ver. 33, in 
which David gives to Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, 
and Benaiah the captain of the hosts, instructions for bringing 
his son Solomon to Gihon, and anointing him king in the stead 
of his father : " Take with you the servants of your lord, and 
cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring 
Hi in down to Gihon." 

Then, in ver. 38, we are told that David's orders were obeyed, 
ill at Solomon was set on the king's Mule, was anointed by 
Zadok, and proclaimed as king to the people. In ver. 44 we 
are told how Adonijah, who had attempted to usurp the throne, 
and was at the very time holding a coronation feast, heard the 
sound of the trumpets and the shouting in honour of Solomon, 
and on inquiring was told that Solomon had been crowned king 
by Zadok, recognised by Nathan, accepted by Benaiah, and had 
ridden on the king's Mule. These tidings alarmed him, and 
caused him to fiee for protection to the altar. Now it is very 
remarkable that in each of these three passages the fact that 
Solomon rode upon the king's Mule is brought prominently 
forward, and it was adduced to Adonijah as a proof that Solomon 
had been made the new king of Israel. 



288 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

That the Mule should have become so important an animal 
seems most remarkable. In Levit. xix. 19 there is an express 
injunction against the breeding of Mules, and it is unlikely, 
therefore, that they were bred in Palestine. But, although the 
Jews were forbidden to breed Mules, they evidently thought 
that the prohibition did not extend to the use of these animals, 
and from the time of David we find that they were very largely 
employed both for the saddle and as beasts of burden. In all 
probability, the Mules were imported from Egypt and other 
countries, and that such importation was one of the means for 
furnishing Palestine with these animals we learn from 1 Kings 
x. 24, 25, in which the sacred writer enumerates the various 
tribute which was paid to Solomon : " All the earth sought to 
Solomon, to hear the wisdom which God had put in his heart. 

" And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, 
and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, 
horses, and mules, a rate year by year." The same fact is re- 
corded in 2 Chron. ix. 24. 

In the time of Isaiah the Mule was evidently in common use 
as a riding animal for persons of distinction. See chap. lxvi. 20 . 
" And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the 
Lord, out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in 
litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy 
mountain Jerusalem." Another allusion to the Mule as one of 
the recognised domesticated animals is found in Zech. xiv. 15 : 
" So shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, 
and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, 
as this plague." 

The value of these animals may be inferred from the anxiety 
of Ahab to preserve his Mules during the long drought that had 
destroyed all the pasturage. " Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into 
the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks : per- 
adventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, 
that w r e lose not all the beasts." 

Now this Obadiah was a very great man. He was governor 
of the king's palace, an office which has been compared to that 
of our Lord High Chamberlain. He possessed such influence 
that, although he was known to be a worshipper of Jehovah, and 
to have saved a hundred prophets during Jezebel's persecution, 
he retained his position, either because no one dared to inform 



THE MULE. 289 

against him, or because he was too powerful to be attacked. Yet 
to Obadiah was assigned the joint office of seeking for pasturage 
for the Mules, the king himself sharing the task with his 
chamberlain, thus showing the exceeding value which must 
have been set on these appanages of royal state. 

Their importance may be gathered from a passage in the Pcok 
of Ezra, in which, after enumerating with curious minuteness 
the number of the Jews who returned home from their Baby- 
lonish captivity, the sacred chronicler proceeds to remark that 
" their horses were seven hundred thirty and six ; their mules, 
two hundred forty and five ; their camels, four hundred thirty 
and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty" 
(Ezra ii. 6$, 67). There is a parallel passage in Nek vii. 68, 69. 

Seeing that the Mule was in such constant use as a riding- 
animal, it is somewhat remarkable that w^e never find in the 
Scripture any mention of the obstinate disposition which is 
proverbially associated with the animal. There is only one 
passage which can be thought even to bear upon such a subject, 
and that is the familiar sentence from Ps. xxxii. 9 : " Be ye 
not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding : 
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they 
come near unto thee ; " and, as the reader will see, no particular 
obstinacy or frowardness is attributed to the Mule which is not 
ascribed to the horse also. 

Still, that the Mule was as obstinate and contentious an 
animal in Palestine as it is in Europe is evident from the fact 
that the Eastern mules of the present day are quite as trouble- 
some as their European brethren. They are very apt to shy at 
anything, or nothing at all ; they bite fiercely, and every now and 
then they indulge in a violent kicking fit, flinging out their 
heels with wonderful force and rapidity, and turning round and 
round on their fore-feet so quickly that it is hardly possible to 
approach them. There is scarcely a traveller in the Holy Land 
who has not some story to tell about the Mule and its perverse 
disposition ; but, as these anecdotes have but very slight bearing 
on the subject of the Mule as mentioned in the Scriptures, they 
will not be given in these pages. 

That the Mule was employed as a beast of burden as well as 
for riding, we gather from several passages in the Old Testa- 
ment. See, for example, 1 Chron. xii. 40 : " Moreover they that 
20 



290 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, 
brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on 
oxen." We have also the well-known passage in which is recorded 
the reply of Naaman to Elisha after the latter had cured him of 
his leprosy : " And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, 
be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth?" It does 
not necessarily follow that two of Naaman's Mules were to be 
laden, with earth, but the probability is, that Naaman used the 
term " a Mule's burden " to express a certain quantity, just as 
we talk of a " load " of hay or gravel. 

As Mules are animals of such value, we may feel some little 
surprise that they were employed as beasts of burden. It is 
possible, however, that a special and costly breed of large and 
handsome Mules, like those of Andalusia, were reserved for 
the saddle, and that the smaller and less showy animals were 
employed in the carriage of burdens. 

Before parting entirely with the Mule, it will be w T ell to 
examine the only remaining passage in which the animal is 
mentioned. It occurs in Ezek. xxvii. 14 : " They of the house 
of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and 
mules." The chapter in which this passage occurs is a sustained 
lamentation over Tyre, in which the writer first enumerates 
the wealth and greatness of the city, and then bewails its down- 
fall. Beginning with the words, " Tyrus, thou hast said, I am 
of perfect beauty," the prophet proceeds to mention the various 
details of its magnificence, the number and beauty of its ships 
built with firs from Senir, having oars made of the oaks of 
Bashan, masts of the cedars of Lebanon, benches of ivory, sails 
of " fine linen with broidered work from Egypt," and coverings 
of purple and scarlet from the isles of Elishah. The rowers 
were from Zidon and Arvad, while Tyre itself furnished their 
pilots or steersmen. 

After a passing allusion to the magnificent army of Tyre, the 
sacred writer proceeds to mention the extent of the merchandise 
that was brought to this queen of ancient seaports : silver and 
other metals were from Tarshish, slaves and brass from Meshech, 
ivory and ebony from Dedan, jewellery and fine linen from 
Syria ; wheat, honey, and oil from Judasa ; wine and white wool 
from Damascus, and so forth. And, among all these riches, are 
prominently mentioned the horses and Mules from Togarmah. 






THE MULE. 291 

Now, it has been settled by the best bibliographers tha.t the 
Tocmrmah of Ezekiel is Armenia, and so we have the fact that 
the Phoenicians supplied themselves with Mules and horses by 
importing them from Armenia instead of breeding those animals 
themselves, just as Palestine imported its horses, and probably 
its Mules also, from Egypt. 

It is rather remarkable that the Arabs of Palestine very 
seldom breed the Mule for themselves, but, like the ancient Jews, 
import them from adjacent countries, mostly from the Lebanon 
district. Those from Cyprus are, however, much valued, as they 
are very strong, diligent, and steady, their pace being nearly 
equal to that of the horse. Mules are seldom used for agricul- 
tural purposes, though they are extensively employed for riding 
and for carrying burdens, especially over rocky districts. 

The Mule is not without its legend. One of the oddest of 
these accounts for its obstinacy and its incapacity for breeding. 

When the Holy Family was about to travel into Egypt, St. 
Joseph chose a Mule to carry them. He was in the act of 
saddling the animal, when it kicked him after the fashion of 
Mules. Angry with it for such misconduct, St. Joseph sub- 
stituted an ass for the Mule, thus giving the former the honour 
of conveying the family into Egypt, and laid a curse upon it 
that it should never have parents nor descendants of its own 
kind, and that it should be so disliked as never to be admitted 
into its master's house, as is the case with the horse and other 
domesticated animals. This is one of the multitudinous legends 
which are told to the crowds of pilgrims who come annually to 
see the miraculous kindling of the holy fire, and to visit the 
tree on which Judas hanged himself. 



292 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



SWINE. 

The Mosaic prohibition of the pig— Hatred of Swine by Jews and Mahometans 
— A strange use of bacon — The prodigal son — Resistance to the persecution oi 
Antiochus — Swine hated by the early Egyptians — Supposed connexion between 
Swine and diseases of the skin — Destruction of the herd of Swine — The 
locality of the event discovered — Pigs bred for the monasteries — The jewel ol 
gold in a Swine's snout — The wild boar of the woods, and the beast of the 
reeds — The damage which it does to the vines — General account of the wild 
boar of Palestine — Excellence of its flesh. 

Many are the animals which are specially mentioned in the 
Mosaic law as unfit for food, beside those that come under the 
general head of being unclean because they do not divide the 
hoof and chew the cud. There is none, however, that excited 
such abhorrence as the hog, or that was more utterly detested. 

It is utterly impossible for a European, especially one of the 
present day, to form even an idea of the utter horror and loath- 
ing with which the hog was regarded by the ancient Jews. 
Even at the present day, a zealous Jew or Mahometan looks 
upon the hog, or anything that belongs to the hog, with an 
abhorrence too deep for words. The older and stricter Jews felt 
so deeply on this subject, that they would never even mention 
the name' of the hog, but always substituted for the objectionable 
word the term "the abomination." 

Several references are made in the Scriptures to the exceeding 
disgust felt by the Jews towards the Swine. The portion of 
the Mosaic law on which a Jew would ground his antipathy to 
the flesh of Swine is that passage which occurs in Lev. xi. 7 : 
"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven- 
footed, yet he cheweth not the cud ; he is unclean to you." But 
the very same paragraph, of which this passage forms the ter- 
mination, treats of other unclean beasts, such as the coney (or 
hyrax) and the hare, neither of which animals are held in such 
abhorrence as the Swine 



swine. 293 

This enactment could not therefore have produced the sin- 
gular feeling with which the Swine were regarded by the Jews, 
and in all probability the antipathy was of far greater antiquity 
than the time of Moses. 

How hateful to the Jewish mind was the hog we may infer 
from many passages, several of which occur in the Book of 
Isaiah. See, for example, lxv. 3, 4 : "A people that pro- 
voketh me to anger continually to my face ; that sacrificeth in 
gardens, and burnetii incense upon altars of brick ; 

"Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monu- 
ments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things 
is in their vessels." Here we have the people heaping one 
abomination upon another — the sacrifice to idols in the gardens, 
the burning of incense upon a forbidden altar and with strange 
fire, the living among the tombs, where none but madmen and 
evil spirits were supposed to reside, and, as the culminating 
point of iniquity, eating Swine's flesh, and drinking the broth 
in which it was boiled. 

In the next chapter, verse 3, we have another reference to the 
Swine. Speaking of the wickedness of the people, and the 
uselessness of their sacrifices, the prophet proceeds to say : " He 
that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a 
lamb, as if he had cut off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an 
oblation, as if he offered swine's blood." We see here how the 
prophet proceeds from one image to another: the murder of a 
man, the offering of a dog instead of a lamb, and the pouring 
out of Swine's blood upon the altar instead of wine — the last- 
mentioned crime being evidently held as the worst of the three. 
Another reference to the Swine occurs in the same chapter, 
verse 17 : " They that sanctify themselves, and purify them- 
selves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's 
flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed 
together, saith the Lord." 

Not only did the Jews refuse to eat the flesh of the hog, but 
they held in utter abomination everything that belonged to it, 
and would have thought themselves polluted had they been even 
touched with a hog's bristle. Even at the present day this feel- 
ing has not diminished, and both by Jews and Mahometans the 
hog is held in utter abhorrence. 

Some recent travellers have made great use of this feeling. 



294 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Signor Pierotti, for example, during his long sojourn in Palestine, 
found the flesh of the hog extremely beneficial to him. " How 
often has the flesh of this animal supported me, especially during 
the earlier part of my stay in Palestine, before I had learned to 
like the mutton and the goats' flesh ! I give the preference to 
this meat because it has often saved me time by rendering a fire 
unnecessary, and freed me from importunate, dirty, and unsavoury 
guests, who used their hands for spoons, knives, and forks. 

"A little piece of bacon laid conspicuously upon the cloth 
that served me for a table was always my best friend. Without 
this talisman I should never have freed myself from unwelcome 
company, at least without breaking all the laws of hospitality 
by not inviting the chiefs of my escort or the guides to share my 
meal; a thing neither prudent nor safe in the open country. 
Therefore, on the contrary, when thus provided I pressed them 
with the utmost earnestness to eat with me, but of course never 
succeeded in persuading them ; and so dined in peace, keeping 
on good terms with them, although they did call me behind my 
back a ' dog of a Prank ' for eating pork. 

" Besides, I had then no fear of my stores failing, as I always 
took care to carry a stock large enough to supply the real wants 
of my party. So a piece of bacon was more service to me than 
a revolver, a rifle, or a sword ; and I recommend all travellers in 
Palestine to carry bacon rather than arms, for the latter are often 
stolen, the former is never." 

Such being the feelings of the Jews, we may conceive the 
abject degradation to which the Prodigal Son of the parable 
must have descended, when he was compelled to become a 
swine-herd for a living, and would have been glad even to have 
eaten the very husks on w r hich the Swine fed. These husks, by 
the way, were evidently the pods of the locust-tree, or carob, of 
which we shall have more to say in a future page. We have in 
our language no words to express the depths of ignominy into 
which this young man must have fallen, nor can we conceive 
any office which in our estimation would be so degrading as 
would be that of swine-herd to a Jew. 

How deeply rooted was the abhorrence of the Swine's flesh 
we can see from a passage in 2 Maccabees, in which is related a 
series of insults offered to the religion of the Jews. The temple 
in Jerusalem was to be called the Temple of Jupiter Olympus. 



swine. 295 

and that on Gerizim was to be dedicated to Jupiter, the defender 
of strangers. The altars were defiled by forbidden things, and the 
celebration of the Sabbath, or of any Jewish ceremony, was 
punishable with death. 

Severe as were all these afflictions, there was one which the 
Jews seem, from the stress laid upon it, to have felt more keenly 
than any other. This was the compulsory eating of Swine's 
flesh, an act which was so abhorrent to the Jews that in 
attempting to enforce it, Antiochus found that he was foiled by 
the passive resistance offered to him. The Jews had allowed 
their temples to be dedicated to the worship of heathen deities, 
they had submitted to the deprivation of their sacred rites, they 
had even consented to walk in procession on the Feast of 
Bacchus, carrying ivy like the rest of the worshippers in that 
most licentious festival. It might be thought that any people 
who submit to such degradation would suffer any similar in- 
dignity. But even their forbearance had readied its limits, and 
nothing could induce them to eat the flesh of Swine. 

Several examples of the resistance offered by them are re- 
corded in the book just mentioned. Eleazar, for example, a man 
ninety years old, sternly refused to partake of the abominable 
food. Some of the officials, in compassion for his great age, 
advised him to take lawful meat with him and to exchange it for 
the Swine's flesh. This he refused to do, saying that his age 
was only a reason for particular care on his part, lest the young 
should be led away by his example. His persecutors then 
forced the meat into his mouth, but he rejected it, and died 
under the lash. 

Another example of similar, but far greater heroism, is given 
by the same chronicler. A mother and her seven sons were 
urged with blows to eat the forbidden food, and refused to do 
so. Thinking that the mother would not be able to endure the 
sight of her sons' sufferings, the officers took them in succession, 
and inflicted a series of horrible tortures upon them, beginning 
by cutting off their tongues, hands, and feet, and ending by 
roasting them while still alive. Their mother, far from counsel- 
ling her sons to yield, even though they were bribed by f>romises 
of wealth and rank, only encouraged them to persevere, and, 
when the last of her sons wa°> dead, passed herself through the 
Fame fiery trial. 



296 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Even among the ancient Egyptians this repugnance to the 
Swine prevailed, though there was a sort of Pariah caste among 
them who bred the animal and ate its flesh. 

This we learn from Herodotus (" Euterpe," xlvii.): — " The 
Egyptians consider the pig to be an impure animal, and if 
therefore a man in passing near a pig should but touch it with 
his clothes, he goes at once to the river and plunges into it. In 
the next place, swine-herds, although they be native Egyptians? 
are the only men who are not allowed to enter into any of their 
temples, neither will any man give his daughter in marriage to 
one of them, nor take a wife from among them, but the swine- 
herds only marry among themselves. 

" The Egyptians therefore do not think it right to sacrifice 
swine to any other deities, but to the moon and Bacchus they 
sacrifice them at the same time ; that is to say, at the same full 

moon, and then they eat the flesh This sacrifice of pigs to 

the moon is performed in the following manner. When the 
sacrificer has killed the victims, he puts the tip of the tail, the 
spleen, and the caul together, covers them with the fat found in 
the belly of the animal, and then consumes it with fire. The 
rest of the 'flesh they eat during the full moon in which 
they offer the sacrifices, but on no other day would any man 
ever taste it. The poor among them, through want of money, 
make pigs out of dough; and, after baking them, offer them 
in sacrifice. 

" On the eve of the festival of Bacchus, every one slays a pig 
before his door, and then restores it to the swine-herd that sold 
it, that he may carry it away. The rest of this festival to 
Bacchus, except as regards the pigs, the Egyptians celebrate 
much in the same manner as the Greeks do." 

It has been conjectured, and with plausibility, that the pig 
was prohibited by Moses on account of the unwholesomeness of 
its flesh in a hot country, and that its almost universal repudia- 
tion in such lands is a proof of its unfitness for food. In coun- 
tries where diseases of the skin are so common, and where the 
dreaded leprosy still maintains its hold, the flesh of the pig is 
thought, whether rightly or wrongly, to increase the tendency to 
such diseases, and on that account alone would be avoided. 

It has, however, been shown that the flesh of Swine can be 
habitually consumed in hot countries without producing any 



swine. 297 

evil results ; and, moreover, that the prohibition of Moses was 
not confined to the Swine, but included many other animals 
whose flesh is used without scruple by those very persons who 
reject that of the pig. 

Knowing the deep hatred of the Jews towards this animal, 
we may naturally wonder how we come to hear of herds of 
Swine kept in Jewish lands. 

Of this custom there is a familiar example in the herd of 
Swine that was drowned in the sea (Matt. viii. 28—34). It is 
an open question whether those who possessed the Swine were 
Jews of lax principles, who disregarded the Law for the sake 
of gain, or whether they were Gentiles, who, of course, were not 
bound by the Law. The former seems the likelier interpretation, 
the destruction of the Swine being a fitting punishment for then- 
owners. It must be here remarked, that our Lord did not, as is 
often said, destroy the Swine, neither did He send the devils into 
them, so that the death of these animals cannot be reckoned as 
one of the divine miracles. Ejecting the evil spirits from the 
maniacs was an exercise of His divine authority; the destruction 
of the Swine was a manifestation of diabolical anger, permitted, 
but not dictated. 

The scene of so remarkable an event is naturally of great 
interest, especially as the statements of the Evangelists who 
mention it do not precisely agree. This subject is so well treated 
by Mr. Tristram in his " Land of Israel," that it must be given 
in his own words : — 

" The field of the tombs at Gadara presents a vivid illus- 
tration of the circumstances connected with the healing of the 
demoniac in the country of the Gadarenes, or Gergesenes. With 
one exception, all the. concomitant events of the miracle are 
exactly illustrated. We have beyond the city the field of tombs, 
these tombs suited for the refuge of demoniac outcasts, occupied 
as dwellings to the present day. We have a plain suited for the 
feeding of swine, with its roots and acorns, and we have a steep 
place hard by, of several hundred feet high, Kpr^^vov. But then, 
it i iocs not run down to the sea, but to the little river. This 
objection is, I think, fatal to the identification of Uni Keis with 
the scene of the miracle. 

" St. Mark (v. 2) tells us that our Lord was met immediately 
on His coming out of the ship. This place is three and a half 



298 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

hours distant from its shores. It is important also to observe 
that St. Matthew (viii. 28) reads not Gadarenes, but Gergesenes. 
and St. Luke states that the coast of the Gadarenes was over 
against Galilee (viii 26). I should feel thereupon disposed fully 
to endorse the suggestion of Dr Thomson, that St. Matthew, 
writing for those intimately acquainted with the topography of 
the country in detail, names the obscure and exact locality, 
Gerr/esa; while SS. Mark and Luke, writing for those at a dis- 
tance, simply names the country of Gadara, as being a place of 
importance, and the acknowledged capital of the district. This 
is borne out by the statement of Josephus (' Bell. Jud.' 1, 
viii. 35). 

" Dr. Thomson visited, at the mouth of the Wady Semakh, 
directly opposite Gennesaret, some ruins called by his guide 
Kcrzct, or Gerza, which he identifies with the Gergesa of St, 
Matthew. The discovery is most interesting and important. 
I visited the place mys-elf from a boat, and observed the remains 
of a valley and a khan ; but, unfortunately, I was not aware at 
the time of the interest attaching to the place, and did not 
ascertain, or at least note down, the name given to it by my 
boatmen. 

" The statement of Origen exactly bears out the discovery of 
Dr. Thomson. After stating that Gadara was not the scene of 
the miracle, for there was thence no steep place into the sea, he 
states that Gergesa is an ancient city on the shores of the lake, 
by which is a steep place which runs down to it. In one 
important particular my memory corroborates the statement of 
Dr. Thomson, viz. that while there is here no precipice running 
sheer to the shore, but a narrow belt of land, the cliff behind is 
steep, and the sea so narrow, that a herd of swine, rushing 
frantically down, must certainly have been overwhelmed in the 
sea before they could recover themselves. 

" While the tombs at Gadara are peculiarly interesting and 
remarkable, yet the whole region is su perforated everywhere by 
rock-chambers of the dead that we may be quite certain that a 
home for the demoniac will not be wanting whatever locality be 
assigned for the events recorded by the Evangelists." 

Although that part of the country is well suited for feeding 
Swine, the animals are no longer kept. In the first place, there 
is a ii'reat want of spirit in matters of commerce: and in the 



swine. 299 

second, the country is so unsettled that the merchants would 
probably be robbed. The woods, moreover, furnish nowadays 
but a scanty supply of acorns, and those are eaten by the Arabs 
instead of being given to pigs. 

These animals are at the present da}- much neglected, because 
the Mahometans and Jews may not eat the flesh, and the 
Christians, as a rule, abstain from it, so that they may not hurt 
the feelings of their neighbours. Pigs are however reared in the 
various monasteries, and by the Arabs attached to them ; the 
former eating the hog, and the latter only breeding it for sale. 
Sign or Pierotti states that the pigs become as part of the family, 
who live and grow fat together with them. Though, he remarks, 
thev are not so intelligent as those that listened to St. Anthony 
preaching in the Thebaid, they play with the children, under- 
stand the language of their masters, and do not disdain to play 
with the fowls, dogs, cats, asses, and horses, and are much more 
nimble than their European brethren, although they are smaller 
in size and not so spirited. 

Although the pig was so detested by the Jews, they were 
evidently well acquainted with it. St. Peter, for example, in 
his Second Epistle, chap. ii. 22, refers to the habit of wallowing 
in the mire, a custom which is common to all the pachyder- 
matous animals, which, in spite of their thick hide, are very 
sensitive to the attacks of flies, and cover themselves with mud 
in order to defend themselves against their tiny but dreaded 
enemies. 

In connexion with the Swine, there is a passage in the 
Proverbs which requires a slight comment. It occurs in chap. 
xi. 22 : " As a jewel (or pendant) of gold in a swine's snout, so is a 
fair woman which is without discretion." The sacred writer refers 
here to the custom adopted by Oriental women of wearing a ring 
in the nostril — a custom which has existed to the present day, 
and is familiar to all those who have travelled in the East. The 
plan which is generally adopted is that of boring a hole through 
the nostril, passing a ring through it, and, when the wound has 
healed, hanging various jewels and other ornaments upon the 
ring, so as to constitute the " pendant of gold " mentioned in 
the proverb. 

The image used by our Lord of casting pearls before Swine 
needs no explanation. 



300 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

We now come to the wild animal. Their is only one passage 
in the Scriptures in which the Wild Boar is definitely men- 
tioned, and another in which a reference is made to it in a 
paraphrase. 

The former of these is the well-known verse of the Psalms : 
" Why hast thou broken down her hedges, so that all they which 
pass by the way do pluck her ? 

" The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast 
of the field doth devour it " (Ps. lxxx. 12, 13). The second 
passage is to be found in Ps. lxviii. 30. In the Authorized 
Version it is thus rendered : " Eebuke the company of spearmen, 
the multitude of bulls, with the calves of the people." If the 
reader will refer to the marginal translation (which, it must be 
remarked, is of equal authority with the text), the passage runs 
thus : " Rebuke the beasts of the reeds," &c. Now, this is 
undoubtedly the correct rendering, and is accepted in the Jewish 
Bible. 

Having quoted these two passages, we will proceed to the 
description and character of the animal. 

In the former times, the Wild Boar was necessarily much 
more plentiful than is the case in these days, owing to the 
greater abundance of woods, many of which have disappeared 
by degrees, and others been greatly thinned by the encroach- 
ments of mankind. Woods and reed-beds are always the habi- 
tations of the Wild Boar, which resides in these fastnesses, and 
seems always to prefer the reed-bed to the wood, probably 
because it can find plenty of mud, in which it wallows after the 
fashion of its kind. There is no doubt whatever that the " beast 
of the reeds" is simply a poetical phrase for the Wild Boar. 

If there should be any cultivated ground in the neighbour- 
hood, the Boar is sure to sally out and do enormous damage to 
the crops. It is perhaps more dreaded in the vineyards than in 
any other ground, as it not only devours the grapes, but tears 
down and destroys the vines, trampling them under foot, and 
destroying a hundredfold as much as it eats. 

If the reader will refer again to Ps. lxxx. he will see that the 
Jewish nation is described under the image of a vine : " Thou 
hast brought a vine out of Egypt : Thou hast cast out the 
heathen and planted it," &c. No image of a destructive enemy 
could therefore be more appropriate than that which is used. 









^m 







WILD BOAE OF PALESTINE. 
'The boar out „f the wood doth waste if-Ps. Ixxx. 18. 



SWINE. 301 

We have read of the little foxes that spoil the vines, but the 
Wild Boar is a much more destructive enemy, breaking its way 
through the fences, rooting up the ground, tearing down the vines 
themselves, and treading them under its feet. A single party 
of these animals will sometimes destroy an entire vineyard in 
a single night. 

We can well imagine the damage that would be done to a 
vineyard even by the domesticated Swine, but the Wild Boar 
is infinitely more destructive. It is of very great size, often 
resembling a donkey rather than a boar, and is swift and active 
beyond conception. The Wild Boar is scarcely recognisable as 
the very near relation of the domestic species. It runs with 
such speed, that a high-bred horse finds some difficulty in over- 
taking it, while an indifferent steed would be left hopelessly 
behind. Even on level ground the hunter has hard work to 
overtake it ; and if it can get upon broken or hilly ground, no 
horse can catch it. The Wild Boar can leap to a considerable 
distance, and can wheel and turn when at full speed, with an 
agility that makes it a singularly dangerous foe. Indeed, the 
inhabitants of countries where the Wild Boar flourishes would 
as soon face a lion as one of these animals, the stroke of whose 
razor-like tusks is made with lightning swiftness, and which is 
sufficient to rip up a horse, and cut a dog nearly asunder. 

Although the Wild Boar is not as plentiful in Palestine as 
used to be the case, it is still found in considerable numbers. 
Whenever the inhabitants can contrive to cut off the retreat of 
marauding parties among the crops, they turn out for a general 
hunt, and kill as many as they can manage to slay. After one 
of these hunts, the bodies are mostly exposed for sale, but, as the 
demand for them is very smuiII, they can be purchased at a very 
cheap rate. Signor Pierotti bought one in the plains of Jericho 
for five shillings. For the few who may eat the hog, this is a 
fortunate circumstance, the flesh being very excellent, and as 
superior to ordinary pork as is a pheasant to a barn-door fowl, 
or venison to mutton. 



302 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE ELEPHANT. 



The Elephant indirectly mentioned in the Authorized Version— Solomon's ivory 
throne — Ivory used in Egypt — Horns of ivory — The ivory palaces — Beds of 
ivory — The Tyrian ships— Ivory mentioned by Homer— Vessels of ivory— 
The Elephant as an engine of war — Antiochus and his Elephants — Oriental 
exaggeration — Self-devotion of Eleazar— Attacking the Elephants, and their 
gradual abandonment in war — The Talmudical writers on the Elephant — A 
funeral and an omen. 



Except indirectly, the Elephant is never mentioned in the 
Authorized Version of the Canonical Scriptures, although fre- 
quent references are made to ivory, the product of that animal. 

The earliest mention of ivory in the Scriptures is to be found 
in 1 Kings x. 18 : " Moreover the king [i.e. Solomon) made a 
great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold/' This 
passage forms a portion of the description given by the sacred 
historian of the glories of Solomon's palace, of which this cele- 
brated throne, with the six steps and the twelve lions on the 
steps, was the central and most magnificent object. It is named 
together with the three hundred golden shields, the golden vessel 
of the royal palace, and the wonderful arched viaduct crossing 
the valley of the Tyropoeon, " the ascent by which he went up 
unto the house of the Lord," all of which glories so overcame 
the Queen of Sheba that " there was no more spirit in her." 

We see, therefore, that in the time of Solomon ivory was so 
precious an article that it was named among the chief of the 
wonders to be seen in the palace of Solomon, the wealthiest and 
most magnificent monarch of sacred or profane history. 

That it should not have been previously mentioned is very 
singular. Five hundred years had elapsed since the Israelites 
escaped from the power of Egypt, and during the whole of that 
time, though gold and silver and precious stones and costly 
raiment are repeatedly mentioned, we do not find a single pas- 
sage in which any allusion is made to ivory. Had we not 



THE ELEPHANT. 



303 



known that ivory was largely used among the Egyptians, such 
an omission would cause no surprise. But the researches of 
modern travellers have brought to light many articles of ivory 
that were in actual use in Egypt, and we therefore cannot but 
wonder that a material so valued and so beautiful does not seem 
to have been reckoned among the treasures which were brought 
by the Israelites from the land of their captivity, and which 
were so abundant that the Tabernacle was entirely formed of 
them. 

In the various collections of Europe are many specimens of 
ivory used by the ancient Egyptians, among the chief of which 
may be mentioned an ivory box in the Louvre, having on its lid 
the name of the dynasty in which it was carved, and the ivory- 
tipped lynch-pins of the splendid war-chariot in Florence, from 
which the illustration on page 260 has been drawn. 

The ivory used by the Egyptians was, of course, that of the 
African Elephant ; and was obtained chiefly from Ethiopia, as 
we find in Herodotus ("Thalia," 114) : — " Where the meridian de- 
clines towards the setting sun, the Ethiopian territory reaches, 
being the extreme part of the habitable world. It produces 
much gold, huge elephants, wild trees of all kinds, ebony, and 
men of large stature, very handsome and long-lived." 

Solomon may have procured from the same source part of the 
ivory which he used so lavishly, but it is evident that he was 
also supplied from India. In 1 Kings x. 22 we read : " For the 
king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram : 
once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, 
and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." The reader will 
remark that an opinion has already been expressed that the 
country whence these articles were brought must be India, and 
this conjecture is strengthened by the Hebrew names given to 
the apes, the peacocks, and the ivory, which are almost identical 
with the words employed in the Cingalese language of the 
present day. 

The usual Hebrew word for ivory is shen, i.e. a tooth, the 
Israelites being perfectly aware that it was the product of a 
tooth, and not of a horn. It is true that in one passage the word 
"horn" is used in connexion with the term "ivory," or "tooth," 
in such a manner that a reader of the English Version might 
imagine the sacred writers to think that ivory was obtained from 



304 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the horn of some animal. This passage occurs in the prophet 
Ezekiel, xxvii. 15. Speaking of Tyre and her greatness, the 
prophet uses the following terms : "' The men of Dedan were thy 
merchants ; many isles were the merchandise of thine band : 
they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony." 

If we refer to the Hebrew Bible, we shall find that the literal 
translation of this passage runs as follows : " The men of Dedan 
were thy traders ; many maritime settlements were the mer- 
chandise of thine hand : they offered thee as a price horns of 
teeth and ebony." It is evident that the word kcrenoth, or 
horns, is used to represent the horn-like shape of the Elephant's 
tusk, as it appears when imported into the country, the use 
of the term shen, or tooth, showing that the shape and not 
material is to be implied by the term. 

Now if the reader will look at a passage which has already 
been quoted (1 Kings x. 22), he will see that the marginal read- 
ing translates the word " ivory " as " elephants' teeth." This ren- 
dering is undoubtedly the correct one. The Hebrew word is 
slwn-habbim, and there is little, if any, doubt that the term 
hahbim is rightly translated as " elephants." A similar word, 
Habbu, is found in the Assyrian inscriptions, and is thought by 
Sir H. Kawlinson to have the same signification 

It will be as well to mention here a curious version of 
Gen. 1. 1, in which Joseph is said to have placed the body of his 
father upon a bier of sJiin-daphin, or ivory. 

After the passage in 1 Kings, ivory is repeatedly mentioned, 
sometimes in allusion to its smoothness and whiteness, and 
sometimes to its use as a luxurious appendage of the palace. 
For its use in the former sense, we may take the well-known 
passage in the Song of Solomon : " His hands are as gold rings 
set with the beryl : his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with 
sapphires" (Cant. v. 14). Also vii. 4, "Thy neck is as a tower 
of ivory." 

For its use in the second of these senses we may take several 
passages. See, for example, Ps. xlv. 8 : " All thy garments 
smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, 
whereby they have made thee glad." It has been suggested 
that the words " ivory palaces " may signify boxes or chests 
inlaid with ivory, in which were deposited the royal garments, 
together with perfumes. Whether or not this he the case, it is 



THE ELEPHANT. 305 

evident that the ivory is here mentioned as a costly adjunct of 
royal luxury. 

There are, however, passages in which ivory is distinctly 
mentioned as forming part of the adornment of houses. For 
example, see 1 Kings xxii. 39 : "Now the rest of the acts of 
Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, 
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
of Israel ? " The " ivory house " could not, of course, be built 
wholly of ivory, and it is evident that, by the term is signified 
a palace, the rooms of which were inlaid with ivory. Another 
mention of such houses is made in Amos iii. 15 : " And J will 
smite the winter house with the summer house ; and the houses 
(if ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, 
saith the Lord." 

Chambers thus decorated are to be seen at the present day, 
and it is remarkable that ivory is still used, together with ebony, 
in panelling the walls of rooms — a combination which is men- 
tioned in several of the passages which have already been 
quoted. 

The use of ivory as an article of luxury is also mentioned in 
Amos vi. 4: "Woe to them . . . that lie upon beds of ivory, 
and stretch themselves upon their couches." And in Ezekiel 
xxvii. 6, the overwhelming wealth and luxury of Tyre are 
pictured by the costly materials of which the Assyrians built 
their ships— the planks of Senir fir, the masts of cedar, the 
oars of Bashan oak, the sails of fine linen, and the very 
benches on which the rowers sat, inlaid with ivory. How 
accurate was the prophet in the details of his bodings, is 
shown by the research of Mr. Layard, who found among the 
buried ruins of Nineveh great quantities of ivory, some manu- 
factured, and some in its original state as imported — the uncut 
tusks, or "horns of ivory," to which reference has already been 
made. 

The classical reader need scarcely be reminded of the parallel 
between passages of Scripture and those of profane authors, 
m which ivory is mentioned as a costly ornament. See, for 
example, the Iliad, book v. 484 : — 

" From his numbed hands the iv'ry studded reins, 
Dropped in the dust, are trailed along the plains." 

(Lines 712, 713, Pope's Version.^ 
21 



306 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

In ancient Greece, as well as in Assyria, the beds of the 
wealthy were adorned with ivory. Ulysses, for example (see 
Odyssey, book xxi.), king as he was, made his own bridal bed 
of hide thongs interlaced, and inlaid the posts with gold, ivory, 
and silver. And, in the beginning of the same book, we find 
that the key of the royal armoury was made of brass inlaid 
with ivory. 

There is only one passage in the New Testament in which 
ivory is mentioned : " And the merchants of the earth shall 
weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise 
any more; the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious 

stones, and all manner vessels of ivory." (Eev. xviii. 

11,12.) 

Having now examined the passages in which ivory is men- 
tioned, we turn to those in which the Elephant itself is named. 
These are only to be found in the Apocrypha, and in all of them 
the Elephant is described as an engine of war. If the reader 
will refer to the Eirst Book of the Maccabees, he will find that 
the Elephant is mentioned at the very commencement of the 
book. " Now when the kingdom was established before An- 
tiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt, that he might have the 
dominion of two realms. 

" Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, 
with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy." 
(i. 16, 17.) 

Here we see that the Elephant was considered as a most potent 
engine of war, and, as we may perceive by the context, the King 
of Egypt was so alarmed by the invading force, that he ran away, 
and allowed Antiochus to take possession of the country. 

After this, Antiochus Eupator marched against Jerusalem 
with a vast army, which is thus described in detail : — " The 
number of his army was one hundred thousand footmen, and 
twenty thousand horsemen, and two and thirty elephants exer- 
cised in battle. 

" And to the end that they might provoke the elephants to 
fight, they showed them the blood of grapes and mulberries. 

*' Moreover, they divided the beasts among the armies, and 
for every elephant they appointed a thousand men, armed with 
coats of mail, and with helmets of brass on their heads ; and, 



THE ELEPHANT. 307 

besides this,, for every beast were ordained five hundred horse- 
men of the best. 

" These were ready at every occasion wheresoever the beast 
was ; and whithersoever the beast went they went also, neither 
departed they from him. 

" And upon the beasts were there strong towers of wood, 
which covered every one of them, and were girt fast unto them 
with devices ; there were also upon every one two and thirty 
strong men that fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled 
him. 

" As for the remnant of the horsemen, they set them on this 
side and that side at the two fronts of the host, giving them 
signs what to do, and being harnessed all over amidst the 
ranks." (1 Mace. vi. 30, &c.) 

It is evident from this description that, in the opinion of the 
writer, the Elephants formed the principal arms of the opposing 
force, these animals being prominently mentioned, and the rest 
of the army being reckoned as merely subsidiaries of the 
terrible beasts. The thirty-two Elephants appear to have taken 
such a hold of the narrator's mind, that he evidently looked upon 
them in the same light that the ancient Jews regarded chariots 
of war, or as at the present day savages regard artillery. 
According to his ideas, the thirty-two Elephants constituted the 
real army, the hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand 
cavalry being only in attendance upon these animals. 

Taken as a whole, the description of the war Elephant is a 
good one, though slightly exaggerated, and is evidently written 
by an eye-witness. The mention of the native mahout, or 
" Indian that guided him," is characteristic enough, as is the 
account of the howdah, or wooden carriage on the back of the 
animal. 

The number of warriors, however, is evidently exaggerated, 
though not to such an extent as the account of Julius Caesar's 
Elephants, which are said to have carried on their backs sixty 
soldiers, beside the wooden tower in which they fought. It is 
evident that, in the first place, no Elephant could carry a tower 
large enough to hold so many fighting men, much less one 
which would afford space for them to use their weapons. 

A good account of the fighting Elephant is given by Topsel 
(p. 157) : — "There were certain officers and guides of the Ele- 



308 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

phants, who were called Elephantarchm, who were the governors 
of sixteen Elephants, and they which did institute and teach 
them martial discipline were called ElephoMagogi. 

" The Military Elephant did carry four persons on his bare 
back, one fighting on the right hand, another fighting on the 
left hand, a third, which stood fighting backwards from the 
Elephant's head, and a fourth in the middle of these, holding 
the rains, and guiding the Beast to the discretion of the Soul- 
diers, even as the Pilot in a ship guideth the stem, wherein 
was required an equal! knowledge and dexterity ; for when the 
Indian which ruled them said, Strike here on the right hand, 
or else on the left, or refrain and stand still, no reasonable man 
could yield readier obedience." 

This description is really a very accurate as well as spirited 
one, and conveys a good idea of the fighting Elephant as it 
appeared when brought into action. 

Strangely enough, after giving this temperate and really 
excellent account of the war Elephant, the writer seems to have 
been unable to resist the fascination of his theme, and proceeds 
to describe, with great truth and spirit, the mode of fighting 
adropted by the animal, intermixed with a considerable amount 
of the exaggeration from which the former part of his account 
is free. 

" They did fasten iron chains, first of all, upon the Elephant 
that was to bear ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty men, on either 
side two panniers of iron bound underneath their belly, and 
upon them the like panniers of wood, hollow, wherein they 
placed their men at armes, and covered them over with small 
boards (for the trunck of the Elephant was covered with a mail 
for defence, and upon that a broadsword two cubits long) ; this 
(as also the wooden Castle, or pannier aforesaid) were fastened 
first to the neck and then to the rump of the Elephant. 

"Being thus armed, they entered the battel, and they shewed 
unto the Beasts, to make them more fierce, wine, liquor made of 
Rice, and white cloth, for at the sight of any of these his courage 
and rage increaseth above all measure. Then at the sound of 
the Trumpet, he beginneth with teeth to strike, tear, beat, spoil, 
take up into the air, cast down again, stamp upon men under 
feet, overthrow with his trunck, and make way for his riders to 
pierce with Spear, Shield, and Sword ; so that his horrible voice. 



THE ELEPHANT. 309 

his wonderful body, his terrible force, his admirable skill, his 
ready and inestimable obedience, and his strange and seldom- 
seen shape, produced in a main battel no mean accidents and 
overturns." 

In this account there is a curious mixture of truth and 
exaggeration. As we have already seen, the number of soldiers 
which the animal was supposed to carry is greatly exaggerated, 
and it is rather amusing to note how the "towers " in which they 
fought are modified into "panniers." Then the method by which 
the animal is incited to the combat is partly true, and partly 
false. Of course an Elephant is not angered by seeing a piece 
of white cloth, or by looking at wine, or a liquor made of rice. 

But that the wine, or the "liquor made of rice," i.e. arrack, 
was administered to the Elephant before it was brought into the 
battle-field, is likely enough. Elephants are wonderfully fond of 
strong drink. They can be incited to perform any task within 
their powers by a provision of arrack, and when stimulated by 
a plentiful supply of their favourite drink they would be in 
good fighting condition. 

Next we find the writer describing the Elephant as being 
furnished with a coating of mail armour on its proboscis, the 
end of which was armed with a sword a yard in length. Now 
any one who is acquainted with the Elephant will see at once 
that such offensive and defensive armour would deprive the 
animal of the full use of the proboscis, and would, therefore, 
only weaken, and not strengthen, its use in battle. Accord- 
ingly we find that the writer, when describing with perfect 
accuracy the mode in which the Elephant fights, utterly omits 
all mention of the sword and the mailed proboscis, and describes 
the animal, not as striking or thrusting with the sword, but as 
overthrowing with the trunk, taking up into the air, and casting 
down again — acts which could only be performed when the 
proboscis was unencumbered by armour. The use of weapons 
was left to the soldiers that fought upon its back, the principal 
object of the huge animal being to trample its way through 
the opposing ranks, and to make a way for the soldiers that 
followed. 

It may be easily imagined that, before soldiers become fami- 
liarized with the appearance of the Elephant, they might be 
pardoned for being panic-struck at the sight of so strange an 



310 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

animal. Not only was it formidable for its vast size, and for the 
armed men which it carried, but for the obedience which it 
rendered to its keeper, a,nd the skill with which it wielded the 
strange but powerful weapon with which Nature had armed it. 

At first, the very approach of so terrible a foe struck con- 
sternation into the soldiers, who knew of no mode by which 
they could oppose the gigantic beast, which came on in its 
swift, swinging pace, crushing its way by sheer weight through 
the ranks, and striking right and left with its proboscis. No 
other method of checking the Elephant, except by self-sacrifice, 
could be found ; and in 1 Mace. vi. 43 — 46, we read how 
Eleazar, the son of Mattathias, nobly devoted himself for his 
country. 

''• Eleazar also, surnamed Savaran, perceiving that one of the 
beasts, armed with royal harness, was higher than all the rest, 
and supposing that the king was upon him. 

" Put himself in jeopardy, to the end he might deliver his 
people, and get him a perpetual name. 

"Whereupon he ran upon him courageously, through the 
midst of the battle, slaying on the right hand and on the left, 
so that they were divided from him on both sides. 

" Which done, he crept under the elephant, and thrust him 
under, and slew him ; whereupon the elephant fell down upon 
him, and he died." 

I may here mention that the surname of Savaran, or A varan, 
as it ought to be called, signifies one who pierces an animal from 
behind, and was given to him after his death, in honour of his 
exploit. 

At first, then, Elephants were the most formidable engines 
of war that could be brought into the battle-field, and the very 
sight of these huge beasts, towering above even the helmets 
of the cavalry, disheartened the enemy so much that victory 
became easy. 

After a while, however, when time for reflection had been 
allowed, the more intellectual among the soldiers began to think 
that, after all, the Elephant was not a mere engine, but a living- 
animal, and, as such, subject to the infirmities of the lower 
animals. So they invented scheme after scheme, by which they 
baffled the attacks of these once dreaded foes, and sometimes 
even succeeded in driving them back among the ranks of their 



THE ELEPHANT. 311 

own soldiery, so maddened with pain and anger, that they dealt 
destruction among the soldiers for whom they were fighting, 
and so broke up their order of battle that the foe easily over- 
came them. 

The vulnerable nature of the proboscis was soon discovered, and 
soldiers were armed with very sharp swords, set on long handles, 
with which they continally attacked the Elephants' trunks. 
Others were mounted on swift horses, dashed past the Elephant, 
and hurled their darts before the animal could strike them. 
Others, again, were placed in chariots, and armed with very long 
and sharply-pointed spears. Several of these chariots would 
be driven simultaneously against an Elephant, and sometimes 
succeeded in killing the animal. Slingers also were told off 
for the express purpose of clearing the " castles," or howdahs, 
of the soldiers who fought on the Elephants' backs, and their 
especial object was the native mahout, who sat on the animal's 
neck. 

Sometimes they made way for the Elephant as it pressed 
forward, and then closed round it, so as to make it the central 
mark, on which converged a hail of javelins, arrows, and stones 
on every side, until the huge animal sank beneath its many 
wounds. By degrees, therefore, the Elephant was found to be 
so uncertain an engine, of war, that its use was gradually dis- 
continued, and finally abandoned altogether. 

The Elephant which was employed in these wars was the 
Indian species, Elephas Indicus, which is thought to be more 
susceptible of education than the African Elephant. The latter, 
however, has been tamed, and, in the days of Home's greatest 
splendour, was taught to perform a series of tricks that seem 
almost incredible. As, however, the Indian species is that with 
which we have here to do, I have selected it for the illus- 
tration. 

It may be at once distinguished from its African relative by 
the comparatively small ears, those of the African Elephant 
reaching above the back of the head, and drooping well below 
the neck. The shape of the head, too, is different. In the 
Indian species, only the males bear tusks, and even many of 
them are unarmed. In the African species, however, both sexes 
bear tusks, those of the male furnishing the best ivory, with its 



312 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

peculiar creamy colour and beautiful graining, and those of the 
female being smaller in size, and producing ivory of a much 
inferior quality. 

The Talmudical writers have not much to say about the 
Elephant, and what they do say is rather ludicrous than other- 
wise. The proboscis, say they, gives the animal a very ugly 
look, so that to dream of the trunk of an Elephant is a bad 
omen. Indeed, it is so odd a substitute for a nose, that when 
people look at it they say, " Praised be He who can thus 
transform His creatures.'' 

Largest and strongest of earth's inhabitants, the Elephant is 
yet afraid of the smallest. The gnat attacks him, flies into the 
open end of the proboscis, and sucks his blood at its ease. 

It is rather remarkable that there is an ironical adage re- 
specting the Elephant and the eye of the needle, exactly similar 
to the familiar proverb of the camel and the needle's eye. 



THE CONEY, OR HYRAX. 

The Shaphau of Scripture, and the correct meaning of the word — Identification 
of the Shaphan with the Syrian Hyrax — Description of the animal — Its feet, 
teeth, and apparent rumination — Passages in which the Coney is mentioned — 
Habits of the animal — Its activity and wariness — The South African Hyrax, 
and its mode of life — Difficulty of procuring it — Similarity in appearance and 
habits of the Syrian species — Three species of Hyrax known to naturalists — 
The Talmudical writers on the Shaphan — The jerboa and the rabbit — A 
curious speculation and a judicious compromise. 

Among the many animals mentioned in the Bible, there is 
one which is evidently of some importance in the Jewish code, 
inasmuch as it is twice nj.med in the Mosaic law. 

That it was also familiar to the Jews is evident from othei 
references which are made to its habits. This animal is the 
Shaphan of the Hebrew language, a word which has very 
wrongly been translated in the Authorized Version as Coney, 
i.e. Rabbit, the creature in question not being a rabbit, nor even 
a rodent. No rabbit ha*; ever been discovered in Palestine, and 







INDIAN ELEPHANT. 
They brought ili.-e for -i |irese!U honn uf Ivory."— Ez xxvii. 15. 



THE CONEY. 



313 



naturalists have agreed that the true Coney or Rabbit has never 
inhabited the Holy Land. There is no doubt that the Shaphan 
of the Hebrew Scripture, and the Coney of the Vulgate, was the 
Syrian Hyeax (Hyrax Syriacus). This little animal is rather 
larger than an ordinary rabbit, is not unlike it in appearance, 
and has many of its habits. It is clothed with brown fur, it is 
very active, it inhabits holes and clefts in rocks, and it has in 
the front of its mouth long chisel-shaped teeth, very much like 
those of the rabbit. Consequently, it was classed by naturalists 




THK HYIIAX. 

The Conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks."— Prov. xxx. 2fi. 



among the rodents for many years, under the name of Rock 
Rabbit. Yet, as I have already mentioned, it is not even a 
rodent, but belongs to the pachydermatous group of animals, and 
occupies an intermediate place between the rhinoceros and the 
hippopotamus. 

If it be examined carefully, the rodent-like teeth will be seen 
to resemble exactly the long curved tusks of the hippopotamus, 



314 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

with their sharp and chisel-edged tips ; the little feet, on a 
dose inspection, are seen to be furnished with a set of tiny 
hoofs just like those of the rhinoceros ; and there are many other 
points in its structure which, to the eye of a naturalist, point 
out its true place in nature. 

In common with the rodents, and other animals which have 
similarly-shaped teeth, the Hyrax, when at rest, is continually 
working its jaws from side to side, a movement which it instinc- 
tively performs, in order that the chiselled edges of the upper 
and lower teeth may be preserved sharp by continually rubbing 
against each other, and that they may not be suffered to grow 
too long, and so to deprive the animal of the means whereby it 
gains its food. But for this peculiar movement, which looks 
very like the action of ruminating, the teeth would grow far 
beyond the mouth, as they rapidly deposit dental material in 
their bases in order to supply the waste caused at their tips by 
the continual friction of the edges against each other. 

It may seem strange that an animal which is classed with the 
elephant, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus, all bare-skinned 
animals, should be clothed with a furry coat. The reader may 
perhaps remember that the Hyrax does not afford a solitary 
instance of this structure, and that, although the elephants ol 
our day have only a few bristly hairs thinly scattered over the 
body, those of former days were clad in a thick and treble coat 
of fur and hair. 

Theue are four passages of Scripture in which the Coney is 
mentioned — two in which it is prohibited as food, and two in 
which allusion is made to its manner of life. In order to 
understand the subject better, we will take them in their order. 

The first mention of the Coney occurs in Leviticus xi. 5, 
among the list of clean and unclean animals : " The coney, 
because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is 
unclean unto you." The second is of a like nature, and is to be 
found in Deut. xiv. 7 : " These ye shall not eat of them that 
chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the 
camel, and the hare, and the coney : for they chew the cud, but 
divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you/' 

The remaining passages, which describe the habits of the 
Coney, are as follow. The first alludes to the rock-loving 



THE CONEY. olo 

habits of the animal : " The high hills are a refuge for the wild 
goats, and the rocks for the conies." (Ps. civ. 18.) The second 
makes a similar mention of the localities which the animal 
frequents, and in addition speaks of its wariness, including it 
among the " four things which are little upon the earth, but they 
are exceedingly wise." The four are the ants, the locusts, the 
spiders, and the Conies, which " are but a feeble folk, yet make 
they their houses in the rocks." 

We will take these passages in their order. 

It has already been mentioned that the Hyrax, a true pachy- 
derm, does not merely chew the cud, but that the peculiar and 
constant movement of its jaws strongly resembles the act ot 
rumination. The Jews, ignorant as they were of scientific 
zoology, would naturally set down the Hyrax as a ruminant, and 
would have been likely to eat it, as its flesh is very good. It 
must be remembered that two conditions were needful to render 
an animal fit to be eaten by a Jew, the one that it must be a 
ruminant, and the second that it should have a divided hoof. 
Granting, therefore, the presence of the former qualification, 
Moses points out the absence of the latter, thereby prohibiting 
the animal as effectually as if he had entered into a question of 
comparative anatomy, and proved that the Hyrax was incapable 
of rumination. 

We now come to the habits of the animal. 

As we may gather from the passages of Scripture which have 
already been mentioned, the Hyrax inhabits rocky places, and 
lives in the clefts ihat are always found in such localities. It is 
an exceedingly active creature, leaping from rock to rock with 
wonderful rapidity, its little sharp hoofs giving it a firm 
hold of the hard and irregular surface of the stony ground. 
Even in captivity it retains much of its activity, and flies about 
its cage with a rapidity that seems more suitable to a squirrel 
than to an animal allied to the rhinoceros and hippopotamus. 

There are several species — perhaps only varieties — of the 
Hyrax, all of them identical in habits, and almost precisely 
similar in appearance. The best known of these animals is that 
which inhabits Southern Africa {Hyrax Capensis), and which is 
familiar to the colonists by its name of Klip-das, or Eock-rabbit. 
In situations which suit it, the Hyrax is very plentiful, and is 
much hunted by the natives ; who esteem its flesh very highly. 



316 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Small and insignificant as it appears to be, even Europeans 
think that to kill the Hyrax is a tolerable test of sportsmanship, 
the wariness of the animal being so great that much hunter's 
craft is required to approach it. 

The following account of the Hyrax has been furnished to me 
by Major A. W. Drayson, K.A. : — " In the Cape Colony, and over 
a great portion of Southern Africa, this little creature is found. 
It is never, as far as my experience goes, seen in great numbers, 
as we find rabbits in England, though the caution of the animal 
is such as to enable it to remain safe in districts from which 
other animals are soon exterminated. 

" As its name implies, it is found among rocks, in the crevices 
and holes of which it finds a retreat. When a natural cavity is 
not found, the klip-das scratches a hole in the ground under the 
rocks, and burrows like a common rabbit. In size it is about 
equal to a hare, though it is much shorter in the legs, and has 
ears more like those of a rat than a rabbit. Its skin is covered 
with fur, thick and woolly, as though intended for a colder 
climate than that in which it is usually found ; and, when seen 
from a distance, it looks nearly black. 

" The rock -rabbit is a very watchful creature, and usually 
feeds on the summit of any piece of rock near its home, always 
choosing one from which it can obtain a good view of the sur- 
rounding country. When it sees an enemy approaching, it 
sits rigidly on the rock^and watches him without moving, so 
that at a little distance it is almost impossible to distinguish 
it from the rock on which it sits. When it does move, it darts 
quickly out of sight, and disappears into its burrow with a 
sudden leap. 

" In consequence of its activity and cunning, the rock-rabbit 
is seldom killed by white men ; and when a hunter does secure 
one, it is generally by means of a long shot. The natives usually 
watch near its burrow, or noiselessly stalk it. 

" I once killed one of these animals by a very long shot 
from a rifle, as it was sitting watching us from the top of a large 
boulder, at a distance of a hundred and fifty yards or there- 
abouts. The Dutch Boers who were with me were delighted at 
the sight of it, as they said it was good eating ; and so it proved 
to be, the flesh being somewhat like that of a hare, though in 
our rough field-cookery we could not do justice to it." 



THE CONEY. 317 

This short narrative excellently illustrates the character of the 
animal, which is classed among the " four things which be ex- 
ceeding wise." It is so crafty that no trap or snare ever set 
has induced a Hyrax to enter it, and so wary that it is with 
difficulty to be killed even with the aid of fire-arms. " No 
animal," writes Mr. Tristram, " ever gave us so much trouble to 
secure. . . . The only chance of securing one is to be concealed, 
particularly about sunset or before sunrise, on some overhanging 
cliff, taking care not to let the shadow be cast below, and then 
to wait until the little creatures cautiously peep forth from their 
holes. They are said to be common by those who have not 
looked for them, but are certainly not abundant in Palestine, 
and few writers have ever had more than a single glimpse of one. 
I had the good fortune to see one feeding in the gorge of the 
Kedron, and then to watch it as it sat at the mouth of its hole, 
ruminating, metaphorically if not literally, while waiting for 
sunset." 

Should the Hyrax manage to catch a glimpse of the enemy, it 
utters a shrill cry or squeal, and darts at once to its hole — an 
action which is followed by all its companions as soon as they 
hear the warning cry. It is a tolerably prolific animal, rearing 
four or five young at a birth, and keeping them in a soft bed of 
hay and fur, in which they are almost hidden. If surprised in 
its hole and seized, the Hyrax will bite very sharply, its long 
chisel-edged teeth inflicting severe wounds on the hand that 
attempts to grasp it. But it is of a tolerably docile disposition, 
and in a short time learns to know its owner, and to delight in 
receiving his caresses. 

Three species of Hyrax are known to naturalists. One is the 
Klip-das, or Kock-rabbit, of Southern Africa ; the second is the 
Ashkoko of Abyssinia ; and the third is the Syrian Hyrax, or 
the Coney of the Bible. The two last species have often been 
confounded together, but the Syrian animal may be known 
by the oblong pale spot on the middle of its back. 

The Talmudical writers were greatly perplexed about the 
proper reading of the word Shaphan, some of them thinking it 
to be a jerboa, and others considering it as the rabbit. Lewysohn 
sums up the arguments alter a rather curious fashion. Accord- 
ing to him, the strongest argument against the translation of the 
Biblical word Shaphan as " rabbit" is that the animal came from 



318 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Spain, and was probably unknown to the earlier Talmudists, 
though the later writers might have known it. 

Then, struck with the resemblance of the Hebrew word "jDtT 
(Sh'p'n) and Spain, he proceeds to discuss the probability of the 
Shaphan deriving its name from Spain, the country of its origin, 
or of Spain being so called on account of the number of rabbits 
which inhabited it. He comes at last to the conclusion that the 
jerboa was probably the animal which was prohibited in the 
Mosaic law ; but that, as the rabbit answered in every respect to 
the Talmudical conditions, it may, for all practical purposes, be 
accepted as the representative of the Shaphan of Scripture. 



BEHEMOTH. 



Literal translation of the word Behemoth — Various theories respecting the 
identity of the animal — The Hippopotamus known to the ancient Hebrews — 
Geographical range of the animal — "He eateth grass like the ox" — Ravages 
of the Hippopotamus among the crops — Structure of the mouth and teeth — 
The " sword or scythe " of the Hippopotamus— Some strange theories — Haunts 
of the Hippopotamus — The Egyptian hunter — A valuable painting — Strength 
of the Hippopotamus— Rising of the Nile — Modern hunters — Wariness of the 
Hippopotamus — The pitfall and the drop-trap. 



In the concluding part of that wonderful poem which is so 
familiar to us as the Book of Job, the Lord is represented as re- 
proving the murmurs of Job, by showing that he could not even 
understand the mysteries of the universe, much less the purposes 
of the Creator. By presuming to bring a charge of injustice 
against his Maker, he in fact inferred that the accuser was more 
competent to govern the world than was the Creator, and thus 
laid himself open to the unanswerable irony of the splendid 
passages contained in chapters xl. xli., which show that man 
cannot even rule the animals, his fellow- creatures, much less 
control the destinies of the human race. 

The passages with which we are at present concerned are to 
be found at th>- end of the fortieth chapter, and contain a most 



BEHEMOTH. 319 

powerful description of some animal which is called by the 
name of Behemoth. Now this word only occurs once in the 
whole of the Scriptures, i.e. in Job xl. 15: "Behold now 
behemoth, which I made with thee," &c. Some commentators, 
in consequence of the plural termination of the word, which 
may be literally translated as " beasts," have thought that it was 
a collective term for all the largest beasts of the world, such as 
the elephant, the hippopotamus, the wild cattle, and their like. 
Others have thought that the elephant was signified by the word 
Behemoth ; and some later writers, acquainted with palaeon- 
tology, have put forward a conjecture that the Behemoth must 
have been some extinct pachydermatous animal, like the dino- 
therium, in which might be combined many of the qualities of 
the elephant and hippopotamus. 

It is now, however, agreed by all Biblical scholars and natu- 
ralists, that the hippopotamus, and no other animal, is the crea- 
ture which was signified by the word Behemoth, and this inter- 
pretation is followed in the Jewish Bible. 

We will now take the whole of the passage, and afterwards 
examine it by degrees, comparing the Authorized Version with 
the Jewish Bible, and noting at the same time one or two vari- 
ations in the rendering of certain phrases. The passage is given 
as follows in the Jewish Bible, and may be compared with our 
Authorized Version: — 

" Behold now the river-horse, which I have made with thee : 
he eateth grass like an ox. 

11 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his vigour is in the 
muscles of his body. 

" He moveth his tail like a cedar : the sinews of his thighs are 
wrapped together. 

"His bones are pipes of copper; his bones are like bars 
of iron. 

" He is the chief of the ways of God : he that made him can 
alone reach his sword. 

" That the mountains should bring forth food for him, and all 
the beasts of the field play there. 

" He lieth under wild lotuses, in the covert of the reed, 
and fens. 

" Wild lotuses cover him with their shadow ; willows of the 
brook compass him about. 



320 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" Behold, should a river overflow, he hasteth not : he feels 
secure should Jordan burst forth up to his mouth. 

" He taketh it in with his eyes : his nose pierceth through 
snares." 

We will now take this description in detail, and see how far 
it applies to the now familiar habits of the hippopotamus. A 
little allowance must of course be made for poetical imagery, but 
we shall find that in all important details the account of the 
Behemoth agrees perfectly with the appearance and habits of 
the hippopotamus. 

In the first place, it is evident that we may dismiss from our 
minds the idea that the Behemoth was an extinct pachyderm 
The whole tenor of the passage shows that it must have been 
an animal then existing, and whose habits were familiar to Job 
and his friends. Now the date of the Book of Job could not 
have been earlier than about 1500 B.c , and in, consequence, 
the ideas of a palaeozoic animal must be discarded. 

We may also dismiss the elephant, inasmuch as it was most 
unlikely that Job should have known anything about the 
animal, and it is certain that he could not have attained the 
familiarity with its appearance and habits which is inferred by 
the context. Moreover, it cannot be said of the elephant that 
" he eateth grass as an ox." The elephant feeds chiefly on the 
leaves of trees, and when he does eat grass, he cannot do so 
" like an ox," but plucks it with his proboscis, and then puts the 
green tufts into his mouth. So characteristic a gesture as this 
would never have passed unnoticed in a description so full of 
detail. 

That the hippopotamus was known to the ancient Hebrews is 
certain. After their sojourn in Egypt they had necessarily 
become familiarized with it ; and if, as most commentators be- 
lieve, the date of the Book of Job be subsequent to the liberation 
of the Israelites, there is no difficulty in assuming that Job and 
his companions were well acquainted with the animal. Even if 
the book be of an earlier date, it is still possible that the hippo- 
potamus may, in those days, have lived in rivers where it is now 
as much extinct as it is in England. Mr. Tristram remarks on 
this point : " JSTo hippopotamus is found in Asia, but there is no 
reason for asserting that it may not have had an eastern range as 
far as Palestine, and wallowed in the Jordan ; for its bones are 



BEHEMOTH. 321 

found in the debo^is of the rivers of Algeria, flowing into the 
Mediterranean, when tradition is quite silent as to its former 
existence. 

" Several extinct species of hippopotamus have been found in 
the later tertiary deposits, both of England and other countries 
of Europe, embedded in gravel which contains shells of many 
existing species of the locality, showing that the temperature 
has not much changed, and that some of the fossil species were 
natives of cold and temperate climes." 

There is no doubt that the hippopotamus and the urus were 
the two largest animals known to the Jews, and it is probably 
on that account that the former received the name of Behemoth. 

Assuming, therefore, that the Behemoth is identical with the 
hippopotamus, we will proceed with the description. 

The words " whom I made with thee " have been variously 
translated. Some Hebraists render them as, " whom I made 
near thee," i.e. near or in the country in which Job lived. 
Others read the words, " like as thee," *. e. that the Behemoth 
was the fellow-creature of Job. Others again understand them 
as signifying that the man and the animal were contempora- 
neous, and the passage should be read, " whom I made at the 
same time with thee." Whichever interpretation we adopt, it is 
evident that a parallel of some kind is drawn between the man 
and the beast. 

" He eateth grass like the ox." The word which is here 
rendered "grass" is translated in Numb. xi. 5 as "leeks." It 
means, something that is green, and is probably used to signify 
green herbage of any description. Now it is perfectly true of 
the hippopotamus that it eats grass like an ox, or like cattle, as 
the passage may be translated. In order to supply its huge 
massive body with nourishment, it consumes vast quantities of 
food, as indeed may be inferred from the structure of its mouth 
and jaws. The mouth is enormously broad and shovel-shaped, 
so as to take in a large quantity of food at once ; and the gape 
is so wide, that when the animal opens its jaws to their full 
extent it seems to split its head into two nearly equal portions. 
This great mobility of jaw is assisted by the peculiar form of 
the gape, which takes a sudden turn upwards, and reaches 
almost to the eyes. 

Just as the mouth is formed to contain a vast quantity of 



322 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

food, so the jaws and teeth are made to procure it. From the 
front of the lower jaw the incisor teeth project horizontally, no 
longer performing the ordinary duties of teeth, but being modi- 
tied into tusks, which are in all probability used as levers for 
prising up the vegetables on which the animal lives. But the 
most singular portion of the jaw is the mode in which the canine 
teeth are modified so as to resemble the incisor teeth of rodents, 
and to perform a similar office. 

These teeth are very long, curved, and chisel-edged at their 
tips, their shape being preserved by continual attrition, just as 
has been mentioned of the hyrax. The material of the teeth is 
peculiarly hard, so much so, indeed, that it is in great request for 
artificial teeth, the " verniers " of philosophical instruments, and 
similar purposes. Consequently, with these teeth the hippopo- 
tamus can cut through the stems of thick and strong herbage as 
with shears, and the strength of its jaws is so great that an 
angered hippopotamus has been known to bite a man completely 
in two, and to crush a canoe to fragments with a single move- 
ment of its enormous jaws. 

Keeping this description in our minds, we shall see how true 
is the statement in verse 19. This passage is not adequately 
rendered in the Authorized Version : the word which is translated 
as " sword " also signifies a scythe, and evidently having that 
meaning in the text. The passage is best translated thus : " His 
Maker hath furnished him with his scythe." 

The havoc which such an animal can make among growing 
crops may be easily imagined. It is fond of leaving the river, 
and forcing its way into cultivated grounds, where it eats vast 
quantities of green food, and destroys as much as it eats, by the 
trampling of its heavy feet. Owing to the width of the animal, 
the feet are placed very far apart, and the consequence is that 
the hippopotamus makes a double path, the feet of each side 
trampling down the herbage, and causing the track to look like 
a double rut, with an elevated ridge between them. 

Some little difficulty has been made respecting the passage in 
verse 20, " Surely the mountains bring him forth food." Com- 
mentators ignorant of the habits of the hippopotamus, and not 
acquainted with the character of the country where it lives, have 
thought that the animal only lived in the rivers, and merely 
found its food along its banks, or at most upon the marshes at 



BEHEMOTH. 323 

the river-side. The hippopotamus, say they, is not a dweller on 
the mountains, but an inhabitant of the river, and therefore this 
passage caDnot rightly be applied to the animal. 

Now, in the rirst place, the word harim, which is translated as 
" mountains " in the Authorized Version, is rendered as " hills " by 
many Hebraists. Moreover, as we know from many passages of 
Scripture, the word " mountain " is applied to any elevated spot, 
without reference to its height. Such places are very common 
along the banks of the Nile, and are employed for the culture of 
vegetables, which would not grow properly upon the flat and 
marshy lands around them. These spots are very attractive to 
the hippopotamus, who likes a change of diet, and thus finds food 
upon the mountains. In many parts of Egypt the river runs 
through a mountainous country, so that the hills are within a 
very short distance of the water, and are easily reached by the 
hippopotamus. 

The Talmudical writers exaggerated, after their custom, the 
dimensions, voracity, and other attributes of the Behemoth. 
They said that the animal devoured daily the herbage of a 
thousand hills, but that, in order to prevent the devastation of 
the world which such voracity would occasion, the herbage was 
miraculously renewed every night. Only two of the Behemoth 
were ever created, and, lest they should increase in numbers, 
and destroy every green thing on the face of the earth, they 
were made incapable of propagating their kind. There are other 
legends of the Behemoth too puerile to be narrated. 

We will now proceed to the next verse. After mentioning 
that the Behemoth can eat grass like an ox, and finds its food 
upon the hills, the sacred writer proceeds to show that in its 
moments of repose it is an inhabitant of the rivers and marshy 
ground : " He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the 
reed, and fens. 

" The shady trees cover him with their shadow ; the willows 
of the brook compass him about." 

Here 1 may remind the reader that the compound Hebrew word 
which is rendered in the Authorized Version as " shady trees " is 
translated by some persons as " wild lotuses" — a rendering which 
is followed by the editor of the Jewish Bible. Apparently, 
however, the Authorized Version gives a more correct meaning 
of the term. Judging from a well-known Egyptian painting, 



324 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

which represents a hunter in the act of harpooning the hippo- 
potamus, the tall papyrus reeds are the plants that are signified 
by this word, which occurs in no other place in the Scriptures. 

Nothing can be more accurate than this description of the 
habits of the animal. I have now before me a number of sketches 
by Mr. T. Baines, representing various incidents in the life of the 
hippopotamus ; and in one or two of them, the little islands that 
stud the river, as well as the banks themselves, are thickly 
clothed with reeds mixed with papyrus, the whole being exactly 
similar to those which are represented in the conventional style 
of Egyptian art. These spots are the favourite haunts of the 
hippopotamus, which loves to lie under their shadow, its whole 
body remaining concealed in the water, and only the eyes, ears, 
and nostrils appearing above the surface. 

As reference will be made to this painting when we come to 
the Leviathan, it will be as well to describe it in detail. In 
order that the reader should fully understand it, I have had it 
translated, so to speak, from the conventional outline of Egyptian 
art into perspective, exactly as has been done with the Assyrian 
and Egyptian chariots. 

In the foreground is seen the hunter, standing on a boat that 
closely resembles the raft-boat which is still in use in several 
parts of Africa. It is made of the very light wood called 
ambatch, by cutting down the requisite number of trees, laying 
them side by side so that their bases form the stern and their 
points the bow of the extemporized boat. They are then firmly 
lashed together, the pointed ends turned upwards, and the simple 
vessel is complete, It is, in fact, nothing more than a raft of 
triangular shape, but the wood is so buoyant that it answers 
every purpose. 

In his hand the hunter grasps the harpoon which he is about 
to launch at the hippopotamus. . This is evidently the same 
weapon which is still employed for that purpose. It consists of 
a long shaft, into the end of which a barbed iron point is loosely 
inserted. To the iron point is attached one end of a rope, and 
to the other end, which is held in the left hand of the harpooner, 
a float of ambatch wood is fastened. 

When the weapon is thrown, the furious struggles of the 
wounded animal disengage the shaft of the harpoon, which is 
regained by the hunter ; and as it dashes through the water, 




THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, OR BEHEMOTH OF SCRIPTURE, 
"Behold now behemoth, which I mad* with thoo."— Job xl. in. 



BEHEMOTH. 



325 



throwing up spray as it goes, the ambatch float keeps the end of 
the rope at the surface, so that it can be seen as soon as the 
animal becomes quieter. Sometimes it dives to the bottom, and 
remains there as long as its breath can hold out ; and when it 




THE EGYPTIAN HUNTER. 

" He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens."— Job xL 21. 
(The attitude of the Hippopotamus is copied from the painting. > 



comes up to breathe, it only pushes the nostrils out of the water 
under the shadow of the reeds, so that but for the float it might 
manage to escape. 

In the meantime, guided by the float, the hunter follows the 
course of the animal, and, as soon as it comes within reach of 
his weapon, drives another spear into it, and so proceeds until 
the animal dies from loss of blood The modern hunters never 



326 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

throw a second harpoon unless the one already fixed gives way, 
mainly employing a spear to inflict the last wounds. But if we 
may judge from this painting, the Egyptian hunter attached a 
new rope with every cast of his weapon, and, when the hippo- 
potamus became weak from its wounds, gathered up the ropes 
and came to close quarters. 

In the bow of the boat is the hunter's assistant, armed with a 
rope made lasso-wise into a noose, which he is throwing over 
the head of the hippopotamus, whose attitude and expression 
show evidently, in spite of the rudeness of the drawing, the 
impotent anger of the weakened animal. 

Behind the hippopotamus are the tall and dense reeds and 
papyrus under the shelter of which the animal loves to lie, and 
on the surface of the water float the beautiful white flowers of 
the lotus. 

In the Egyptian painting, the artist, in spite of. the conven- 
tionalities to which he was bound, has depicted the whole scene 
with skill and spirit. The head and open mouth of the hippo- 
potamus are remarkably fine, and show that the artist who drew 
the animal must have seen it when half mad with pain, and 
half dead from loss of blood. 

The enormous strength of the hippopotamus is shown in 
verses 16, 18, the last of which passages requires a little explana- 
tion. Two different words are used here to express the bones of 
the animal. The first is derived from a word signifying strength, 
and means the " strong bones," i.e. those of the legs. These are 
hollow, and are therefore aptly compared to tubes or pipes of 
copper. The second term is thought by some Hebraists to refer 
to the rib-bones, which are solid, and therefore are not likened 
to tubes, but to bars of iron. 

The 23d verse has been translated rather variously. The 
Authorized Version can be seen by reference to a Bible, and 
another translation, that of the Jewish Bible, is given on page 
320. A third, and perhaps the best rendering of this passage is 
given by the Rev. W. Drake, in Smith's "Dictionary of the Bible:" 
" Lo, the river swelleth proudly against him, yet he is not 
alarmed ; he is securely confident though a Jordan burst forth 
against his mouth." 

In all probability reference is here made to the annual rising 
of the Nilo, and the inundations which it causes. In some 



BEHEMOTH. 327 

years, when it rises much above its usual height, the floods 
become most disastrous. Whole villages are swept away, and 
scarcely a vestige of the mud-built houses is left ; the dead 
bodies of human beings are seen intermixed with those of cattle, 
and the whole country is one scene of desolation. Yet the 
almost amphibious hippopotamus cares nothing for the floods, 
as long as it can find food, and so, " though the river swelleth 
proudly against him," he is not alarmed. 

From the use of the word "Jordan ",m the same verse, it might 
be thought that the river of Palestine was intended. This, 
however, is not the case. The word "Jordan" is simply used as a 
poetical term for any river, and is derived from a Hebrew 
word which signifies " descending quickly." 

We now come to the last verse of this noble description: "He 
taketh it in with his eyes." These words have also been variously 
rendered, some translating them as " He receiveth it (i.e. the 
river) up to his eyes." But the translation which seems to suit 
the context best is, " Who will take him when in his sight ? His 
nose pierceth through (i.e. detects) snares." Now, this faculty 
of detecting snares is one of the chief characteristics of the. 
hippopotamus, when it lives near places inhabited by mankind, 
who are always doing their best to destroy it. In the first 
place, its body gives them an almost unlimited supply of flesh, 
the fat is very highly valued for many purposes, the teeth are 
sold to the ivory-dealers, and the hide is cut up into whips, or 
khoorbashes. 

There is now before me a khoorbash, purchased from a native 
Egyptian who was beating a servant with it. The whip is 
identical with that which was used by the ancient Egyptians in 
urging the Israelites to their tasks, and the scene reminded the 
traveller so forcibly of the old Scriptural times that he rescued 
the unfortunate servant, and purchased the khoorbash, which is 
now in my collection. 

Not content with hunting the hippopotamus, the natives 
contrive various traps, either pitfalls or drop-traps. The former 
are simply pits dug in the path of the animal, covered with 
sticks and reeds, and having at the bottom a sharp stake on 
which the victim is impaled, and so effectually prevented from 
escaping or damaging the pit by its struggles. 

The drop-trap is a log of wood, weighted with stones, and 



328 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



having at one. end an iron spike, which is sometimes poisoned. 
The path which the animal takes is watched, a conveniently 
overhanging branch is selected, and from that branch the cruel 
spenr is suspended, by a catch or trigger, exactly over the centre 
of the path. There is no difficulty in finding the precise centre 




HIPPOPOTAMUS AND TRAP. 

"His nose pierceth through snares." — Job xl. 24. 



of the path, owing to the peculiar gait of the animal, which 
has already been described. One end of the trigger supports 
the spear, and to the other is attached a rope, which is brought 
across the path in such a way that when touched it relieves the 
spear, which is driven deeply into the animal's back. If well 
hung, the spear-blade divides the spine, and the wounded animal 



BEHEMOTH. 



321) 



falls on the spot, but, even if it should miss a vital part, the 
poison soon does its fatal work. 

In consequence of the continual persecution to which it is 
subjected, the hippopotamus becomes exceedingly wary, and, 
huge, clumsy, and blundering as it looks, is clever enough to 
detect either pitfall or drop-trap that have not been contrived 
with especial care. An old and experienced hippopotamus 
becomes so wary that he will be suspicious even of a bent twig, 
and, rather than venture across it, he will leave the path, force 
for himself a roundabout passage, and return to the path beyond 
the object that alarmed him. 

Mr. T. Baines, to whose sketches I am indebted for the 
illustration, told me that the hippopotamus is possessed of 
much more intellect than might be expected from a creature 
of so dull, clumsy, and unpromising aspect. Apathetic it 
generally is, and, as long as it is left unmolested, does not 
care to molest even the human beings that intrude upon its 
repose. 

It likes to lie in the shade of the reeds and rushes, and may 
be seen floating in the water, with only the nostrils, the eyes, 
and the ears above the surface, these organs being set in a line 
along the head, evidently for the purpose of allowing the whole 
body to be hidden under water while the three most important 
senses are capable, of acting. 

A canoe-man who knows the habits of the hippopotamus will 
fearlessly take his fragile vessel through a herd of the animals, 
knowing that, if he only avoids contact with them, they will 
not interfere with him. The only danger is, that a hippopotamus 
may rise under the canoe, and strike itself against the boat, in 
which case the animal is rather apt to consider the intruding 
object as an enemy, and to attack it, sometimes crushing the 
c?c»noe between its teeth, and mostly upsetting it, and throwing 
the crew into the water. In such a case, the men always dive 
at once to the bottom of the river, and hold on to some weed or 
rock as long as they can exist without breathing. The reason 
for this proceeding is, that the hippopotamus always looks for 
its enemy upon the surface of the water, and, if the men were 
to swim to shore, they would be caught and killed before they 
had swum many strokes. But, as it sees nothing 'but the 
damaged canoe, its short-lived an^er vanishes, and it sinks again 



330 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

into the river, leaving the men at liberty to regain and repaiT 
their vessel. 

There is one passage in the description of the Behemoth 
which requires a few words of explanation : " He moveth his 
tail like a cedar" (v. 17). 

Several commentators have imagined that this expression 
shows that the Behemoth must have been an auimal which had 
a very long and powerful tail, and have adduced the passage as a 
proof that the crocodile was the animal that was signified by 
the Behemoth. Others, again, have shifted the position of the 
tail, and, by rendering it as the " proboscis," have identified the 
Behemoth with the elephant. There is, however, no necessity 
for straining the interpretation, the passage evidently signifying 
that the member in question is stiff and inflexible as the cedar- 
stem. 



BIRDS. 



THE 

LAMMEKGEIER, OR OSSIFRAGE OF SCRIPTURE. 



Difficulty of identifying the various birds mentioned in Scripture— The vultures 
of Palestine— The Lammergeier, or Ossifrage of Scripture— The Hebrew word 
Peres, and its signification — The Ossifrage, or Bone-breaker — Appearance of the 
Lammergeier — Its flight and mode of feeding — How the Lammergeier kills 
snakes and tortoises, and breaks marrow-bones — Mode of destroying the 
chamois and mountain sheep — Nest of the Lammergeier. 



It has already been mentioned that even the best Biblical 
scholars have found very great difficulties in identifying several 
of the animals which are named in Scripture. This difficulty is 
greatly increased when we come to the Birds, and in many in- 
stances it is absolutely impossible to identify the Hebrew word 
with any precise species. In all probability, however, the 
lomenclature of the birds is a very loose one, several species 
being classed under the same title. 

Even at the present day, the English language presents many 
similar instances of poverty, as is well known to all zoologists. 
Taking the birds as our first examples, how often do we not find 
the same word used to signify many distinct species, and, again, 
one species designated by several dissimilar words? The word 
Vulture, for example, is used to signify a great number of birds, 
including the Lammergeier, the Condors, the Griffons, the Cara- 
caras, and others ; while the term Eagle has scarcely a less wide 
signification. Sometimes the name is applied in such a manner 
as to mislead those who are not scientific ornithologists, and we 
find such inappropriate titles as night-hawk, fern-owl, hedge- 
sparrow, reed-wren, &c, the birds in question being neither 
hawks, owls, sparrows, nor wrens. 

Keeping this difficulty in mind, I shall mention all the species 
which are likely to have been classed under a single title, giving 
a general description of the whole, and a detailed account of the 



334 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



particular species which seems to answer most closely to the 
Hebrew word. 

Following the arrangement which has been employed in this 
work, I shall begin with the bird which has been placed by 
zoologists at the head of its class, namely, the Lammergeier, the 




TWE LAMMERGEIER, OR OSSIFRAGE OF SCRIPTURE. 

" These are they of which ye shall not eat : the eagle, and the ossifrage. and the ospray. "—Deut. xiv. 12. 



bird which may be safely identified with the Ossifrage of 
Scripture. The Hebrew word is " Peres," a term which only 
occurs twice when signifying a species of bird ; namely, in Lev. 
xi. 13, and the parallel passage in Deut. xiv. 12. The first of 
these passages runs as follows : " These ye shall have in abomi- 
nation among the fowls ; they shall not be eaten, they are an 



the lAmmergeier. 335 

abcmm?,tiun : the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray." The 
corresponding passage in Deuteronomy has precisely the same 
signification, though rather differently worded : " These are they 
of which ye shall not eat : the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the 
ospray." 

The reader will here notice that the sacred narrative gives no 
account of the appearance or habits of the bird, but merely 
classed it with the remainder of the predacious birds, all of 
which are declared to be unfit for food. We must therefore look 
for some assistance in the etymology of 'the word pares, which 
signifies one who breaks anything. The same word occurs in 
several other passages of Scripture. 

For example, the word was much used by David in comme- 
morating any remarkable event. When David sent Uzzah and 
Ahio to fetch the ark from Kirjath-jearim, the oxen which drew 
the cart stumbled and shook the ark, so that it seemed likely to 
fall. Uzzah, who walked by the side of the cart, while his 
brother marched in front of the oxen, instinctively put out his 
hand to uphold it, and fell dead by the side of the ark which he 
had touched without authority. In order to commemorate this 
event, David called the spot whereon it occurred Perez-Uzzah, 
or the Breaking of Uzzah. " because the Lord had made a 
breach upon Uzzah." (See 2 Sam. vi. 8.) 

Reference to this event was afterwards made by David when 
he brought the ark into Jerusalem. Having taken warning by 
the solemn event which he had witnessed, he called together the 
priests and Levites, to whom he gave the commission to bring 
the ark with due honour, and " said unto them, Ye are the chief 
of the fathers of the Levites : sanctify yourselves, both ye and 
your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of 
Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. 

" For, because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God 
made a breach (peres) upon us, for that we sought Him not in 
due order" (1 Chron. xv. 12, 13). David again employed the 
word to signify the breaking up or destruction of the Philis- 
tines. "David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath 
broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of 
waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal- 
perazim " — i.e. the Place of Breakings. The same word occurs 
again in that dread message to Belshazzar, written by the hand 



336 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

upon the wall, " Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin," or peres, the last 
word signifying that the kingdom was broken up, and would be 
given to other rulers. 

The word peres, then, signifies a breaker ; and the Latin 
term Ossifraga, or Bone- breaker, is a very good translation of 
the word. How it applies to the Lammergeier we shall pre- 
sently see. 

The Lammergeier belongs to the vultures, but has much more 
the appearance of an eagle than a vulture, the neck being clothed 
with feathers, instead of being naked or only covered with 
down. It may at once be known by the tuft of long, hair-like 
feathers which depends from the beak, and which has gained for 
the bird the title of Bearded Vulture. The colour of the 
plumage is a mixture of different browns and greys, tawny 
below and beautifully pencilled above, a line of pure white run- 
ning along the middle of each feather. When young it is nearly 
black, and indeed has been treated as a separate species under 
the name of Black Vulture. 

It is one of the largest of the flying birds, its length often 
exceeding four feet, and the expanse of its wings being rather 
more than ten feet. In consequence of this great spread of 
wing, it looks when flying like a much larger bird than it really 
is, and its size has often been variously misstated. Its flight, as 
may be imagined from the possession of such wings, is equally 
grand and graceful, and it sweeps through the air with great 
force, apparently unaccompanied by effort. 

The Lammergeier extends through a very large range of 
country, and is found throughout many parts of Europe and 
Asia. It is spread over the Holy Laud, never congregating 
in numbers, like ordinary vultures, but living in pairs, and 
scarcely any ravine being uninhabited by at least one pair of 
Lammergeiers. 

The food of the Lammergeier is, like that of other vultures, 
the flesh of dead animals, though it does not feed quite in the 
same manner that they do. When the ordinary vultures have 
found a carcase they tear it to pieces, and soon remove all the 
flesh. This having been done, the Lammergeier comes to the 
half-picked bones, eats the remaining flesh from them, and 
finishes by breaking them and eating the marrow. That a bird 
should be able to break a bone as thick and hard ay the thigh- 



THE LAMMERGEIER. 337 

bone of a horse or ox seems rather problematical, but the bird 
achieves the feat in a simple and effectual manner. 

Seizing the bone in its claws, it rises to an immense height in 
the air, and then, balancing itself over some piece of rock, it lets 
the bone fall, and sweeps after it with scarce less rapidity than 
the bone falls. Should the bone be broken by the fall, the bird 
picks the marrow out of the fragments ; and should it have 
escaped fracture by reason of falling on a soft piece of ground 
instead of a hard rock, the bird picks it up, and renews the pro- 
cess until it has attained its object. It will be seen, therefore, 
that the name of Ossifrage, or Bone-breaker, may very properly 
be given to this bird. 

Not only does it extract the marrow from bones in this 
peculiar manner, but it procures other articles of food by em- 
ploying precisely the same system. If it sees a tortoise, many 
of which reptiles are found in the countries which it inhabits, it 
does not waste time and trouble by trying to peck the shell 
open, but carries its prey high in the air, drops it on the ground, 
and so breaks its shell to pieces. Tortoises are often very hard- 
shelled creatures, and the Lammergeier has been observed to 
raise one of them and drop it six or seven times before the 
stubborn- armour would yield. Snakes, too, are killed in a 
similar manner, being seized by the neck, and then dropped from 
a height upon rocks or hard ground. The reader may perhaps 
be aware that the Hooded Crow of England breaks bones and 
the shells of bivalve molluscs in a similar manner. 

Mr. Tristram suggests, with much probability, that the 
" eagle " which mistook the bald head of the poet iEschylus for 
a white stone, and killed him by dropping a tortoise upon it, was 
in all likelihood a Lammergeier, the bird being a denizen of the 
same country, and the act of tortoise-dropping being its usual 
mode of killing those reptiles. 

We now see why the Lammergeier is furnished with such 
enormous wings, and so great a power of flight, these attributes 
being needful in order to enable it to lift its prey to a sufficient 
height. The air, as we all know, becomes more and more 
attenuated in exact proportion to the height above the earth , and 
did not the bird possess such great powers of flight, it would 
not be able to carry a heavy tortoise into the thinner strata of 
air which are found at the height to which it soars. 
23 



338 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The instinct of killing its prey "by a fall is employed against 
other animals besides snakes and tortoises, though exerted in a 
somewhat different manner. The bird, as has already been 
mentioned, lives among mountain ranges, and it may be seen 
floating about them for hours together, watching each inch of 
ground in search of prey. Should it see a goat or other inhabi- 
tant of the rocks standing near a precipice, the Lammergeier 
sweeps rapidly upon it, and with a blow of its wing knocks 
the animal off the rock into the valley beneath, where it lies 
helplessly maimed, even if not killed by the fall. 

Even hares and lambs are killed in this manner, and it is from 
the havoc which the Lammergeier makes among the sheep that 
it has obtained the name of Lammergeier, or Lamb- Vulture. So 
swift and noiseless is the rush of the bird, that an animal which 
has once been marked by its blood-red eye seldom escapes from 
the swoop ; and even the Alpine hunters, who spend their lives 
in pursuit of the chamois, have occasionally been put in great 
jeopardy by the sudden attack of a Lammergeier, the bird having 
mistaken their crouching forms for the chamois, 'and only turned 
aside at the last moment. 

The reason for employing so remarkable a mode of attack is to 
be found in the structure of the feet, which, although belonging 
to so large and powerful a bird, are comparatively feeble, and are 
unable, like those of the eagle, to grasp the living animal in a 
deadly hold, and to drive the sharp talons into its vitals. They 
are not well adapted for holding prey, the talons not possessing 
the hook-like form or the sharp points which characterise those 
of the eagle. The feet, by the way, are feathered down to the 
toes. The beak, too, is weak when compared with the rest 
of the body, and could not perform its work were not the 
object which it tears previously shattered by the fall from a 
height. 

The nest of the Lammergeier is made of sticks and sods, and 
is of enormous dimensions. It is almost always placed upon a 
lofty cliff, and contains about a wagon-load or so of sticks 
rudely interwoven, and supporting a nearly equal amount of sods 
and moss. 

An allied species lives in Northern Africa, where it is called 
by a name which signifies Father Longbeard, in allusion to the 
beard-like tufts of the bill. 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 339 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE OR GIER-EAGLE. 



The Racham or Gier-Eagle identified with the Egyptian Vulture — Its appearance 
on the Egyptian monuments — Signification of the word rdchdm — Various 
translations of the word — The shape, size, and colour of the bird — Its value as 
a scavenger, and its general habits — The Egyptian Vultures and the griffons- 
Its fondness for the society of man — Nest of the Egyptian Vulture. 



In the same list of unclean birds which has already been given, 
we find the name of a bird which we can identify without much 
difficulty, although there has been some little controversy about 
it. This is the so-called Gier-Eagle, which ; s named with the 
cormorant and the pelican as one of the birds which the Jews 
are forbidden to eat. The word which is ti anslated as Gier-Eagle 
is Racham, a name which is almost identical with the Arabic 
name of the Egyptian Vulture, sometimes called Pharaoh's 
Chicken, because it is so often sculptured on the ancient monu- 
ments of Egypt. It is called by the Turks by a name which 
signifies White Father, in allusion to the colour of its plumage. 

Before proceeding to a description of the bird, we will examine 
the other interpretations which have been given to the word 
rdchdm. 

In the first place, the word signifies " love," and is used in that 
sense in many passages of Scripture. According to Buxtorf, the 
bird in question is the merops or bee-eater, " a bird so called 
from the love and pity which is shown to its parents, because it 
nurtures them when hidden in the most lofty caves." Some of 
the Talmudists take it to be the woodpecker. 

Another rendering of the word which has received much 
favour is, that the Racham is the hyacinthine gallinule, or 
sultana hen (Pophyrio veterum). This bird is allied to the 
rails, and is remarkable for the great length of its toes, by 
means of which it can walk on floating herbage as it lies on the 
surface of the water. The colour of the bird is a rich and 
variable blue, darker on the back and lighter on the throat and 



340 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



breast It is on account of this purple hue that the bud has 
received the name of Pophyrw, or Purple Bird. It is spread 
over many parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. 

The reading of rdchdm as pophyrio is followed in the bep- 
tuagint, and the reading has been defended on the ground that 




EGYPT! AX VtTLTtJRfc, OR OIER-EAGLE. 

1 And the pelican, and the gier-eagle, and the cormorant."— Devt. xiv. 17. 



the bird must belong to the aquatic group, being placed between 
the pelican and cormorant. The Jewish Bible follows our 
version, but affixes the mark of doubt to the word. 

Although some of the Talmudists render the word as wood- 
pecker, others identify it with the Egyptian Vulture. In 
Lewysohn's " Zoologie des Talmud*/' there is a curious specula- 
tion on this subject. This bird, according to the authors whom 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 341 

he quotes, is the Schirkrek, and derives its name from its 
peculiar cry, which begins with a hiss (Schirk) and ends with 
a shriek (Eek). The bird utters its cry when the rising of the 
Nile is expected, and so has earned the name of Racham, or 
Love, this word being frequently used in the Scriptures as a 
metaphor for rain, dew, or any water that nourishes plants. 

Without adopting the process of reasoning employed in this 
case, we may safely accept the conclusion, and consider the 
Racham as identical with the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron 
percnopterus). 

This bird is not a very large one, being about equal to a raven 
in size, though its enormously long wings give it an appearance 
of much greater size. Its colour is white, with the exception of 
the quill feathers of the wings, which are dark-brown. The bill 
and the naked face and legs are bright ochreous yellow. It does 
not attain this white plumage until its third year, its colour 
before reaching adult age being brown, with a grey neck and 
dull yellow legs and face. 

The Egyptian Vulture, although not large, is a really hand- 
some bird, the bold contrast of pure white and dark brown 
being very conspicuous when it is on the wing. In this plumage 
it has never been seen in England, but one or two examples are 
known of the Egyptian Vulture being killed in England while 
still in its dark-brown clothing. 

It inhabits a very wide range of country, being found 
throughout all the warmer parts of the Old World. Although 
it is tolerably plentiful, it is never seen in great numbers, as is 
the case with several of the vultures, but is always to be found 
in pairs, the male and female never separating, and invariably 
being seen close together. In fact, in places where it is common 
it is hardly possible to travel more than a mile or two without 
seeing a pair of Egyptian Vultures. Should more than two of 
these birds be seen together, the spectator may be sure that they 
have congregated over some food. It has been well suggested 
that its Hebrew name of Racham, or Love, has been given to it 
in consequence of this constant association of the male and 
female. 

The Egyptiau Vulture is one of the best of scavengers, not 
only devouring the carcases of dead animals, but feeding on 
every kind of offal or garbage. Indeed, its teeth and claws are 



342 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

much too feeble to enable it to cope with the true vultures in 
tearing up a large carcase, and in consequence it never really 
associates with them, although it may be seen hovering near 
them, and it never ventures to feed in their company, keeping 
at a respectful distance while they feed, and, when they retire, 
humbly making a meal on the scraps which they have left. 

Mr. Tristram narrates an amusing instance of this trait of 
character. " On a subsequent occasion, on the north side of 
Hermon, we observed the griffons teaching a lesson of patience 
to the inferior scavengers. A long row of Egyptian vultures 
were sitting on some rocks, so intently watching a spot in a 
corn-field that they took no notice of our approach. Creeping 
cautiously near, we watched a score of griffons busily engaged 
in turning over a dead horse, one side of which they had already 
reduced to a skeleton. 

" Their united efforts had just effected this, when we showed 
ourselves, and they quickly retired. The inferior birds, who 
dreaded us much less than them, at once darted to the repast, 
and, utterly regardless of our presence within ten yards of them, 
began to gorge. We had hardly retired two hundred yards, when 
the griffons came down with a swoop, and the Egyptian vultures 
and a pair or two of eagles hurriedly resumed their post of 
observation ; while some black kites remained, and contrived by 
their superior agility to filch a few morsels from their lordly 
superiors." 

So useful is this bird as a scavenger, that it is protected in all 
parts of the East by the most stringent laws, so that a naturalist 
who wishes for specimens has some difficulty in procuring the 
bird, or even its egg. It wanders about the streets of the villages, 
and may generally be found investigating the heaps of refuse 
which are left to be cleared away by the animals and birds 
which constitute the scavengers of the East. 

It not only eats dead animal substances, but kills and devours 
great quantities of rats, mice, lizards, and other pests that swarm 
in hot countries. So tame is it, that it may even be observed, 
like the gull and the rook of our own country, following the 
ploughman as he turns up the ground, and examining the furrow 
for the purpose of picking up the worms, grubs, and similar 
creatures that are disturbed by the share. 

Being thus protected and encouraged by man, there is good 



THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE. 343 

reason why it should have learned in course of time to fear him 
far less than its own kind. Indeed, it is so utterly fearless with 
regard to human beings, that it habitually follows the caravans 
as they pass from one town to another, for the sake of feeding 
on the refuse food and other offal which is thrown aside on 
the road. 

Two articles of diet which certainly do not seem to fall within 
the ordinary range of vulture's food are said to be consumed 
by this bird. The first is the egg of the ostrich, the shell 
of which is too hard to be broken by the feeble beak of the 
Egyptian Vulture. The bird cannot, like the lammergeier, 
carry the egg into the air and drop it on the ground, because its 
feet are not large enough to grasp it, and only slip off its round 
and polished surface. Therefore, instead oj 1 raising the egg into 
the air and dropping it upon a stone, it carries a stone into the 
air and drops it upon the egg. So at least say the natives of the 
country which it inhabits, and there is no reason why we should 
doubt the truth of the statement. 

The other article of food is a sort of melon, very full of juice. 
This melon is called " nara," and is devoured by various creatures, 
such as lions, leopards, mice, ostriches, &c. and seems to serve 
them instead of drink. 

The nest of the Egyptian Vulture is made in some rocky 
ledge, and the bird does not trouble itself about selecting a spot 
inaccessible to man, knowing well that it will not be disturbed. 
The nest is, like that of other vultures, a large and rude mass 
of sticks, sods, bones, and similar materials, to which are added 
any bits of rag, rope, skin, and other village refuse which it can 
pick up as it traverses the streets. There are two, and occa- 
sionally three, eggs, rather variously mottled with red. In 
its breeding, as in its general life, it is not a gregarious bird, 
never breeding in colonies, and, indeed, very seldom choosing 
a spot for its nest near one which has already been selected 
by another pair. 

The illustration on page 340 represents part of the nest oi 
the Egyptian Vulture, in which the curious mixture of bones 
and sticks is well shown. The parent birds are drawn in 
two characteristic attitudes taken from life, and well exhibit 
the feeble beak, the peculiar and intelligent, almost cunning- 
expression of the head, and the ruff of feathers which surrounds 



344 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the upper part of the neck. In the distance another bird is 
drawn as it appears on the wing, in order to show the contrast 
between the white plumage and the dark quill feathers of the 
wings, the bird presenting a genera] appearance very similar to 
that of the common English sea-gull 



THE 

GRIFFON VULTURE, OE EAGLE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The Griffon Vulture identified with the Eagle of Scripture — The word Nesher and 
its signification — Geographical range of the Griffon — Its mode of flight and 
sociable habits — The featherless head and neck of the bird — The Vulture 
used as an image of strength, swiftness, and rapacity — Its powers of sight 
— How Vultures assemble round a carcase— Nesting-places of the Griffon — 
Mr. Tristram's description of the Griffon — Rock-caves of the Wady Hamara — 
Care of the young, and teaching them to fly— Strength of the Griffon — Its 
emblematical use in Egypt and Assyria — The god Nisroch — Noble aspect of 
the Griffon — Its longevity — Various attitudes assiimed by the bird. 

We now come to another word which will give us but little 
trouble in identification. This is the word Nesher, which is 
invariably translated in the Authorized Version of the Bible as 
Eagle, but which was undoubtedly a different bird, and has 
satisfactorily been identified with the Griffon Vultuhe, or 
Great Vulture (Gyps fulvus). The reasons for this conclusion 
are so inextricably interwoven with the various passages in 
w r hich the bird is mentioned, that I shall not give them sepa- 
rately, but simply allude to them in the course of the article. 

In the first place, the name Nesher is derived, according to 
many Hebraists, from a word which signifies the power of sight, 
and is given to the bird in consequence of its piercing vision. 
The Talmudical writers mention a curious proverb concerning 
the sight of the Vulture, namely, that a Vulture in Babylon can 
see a carcase in Palestine. Other scholars derive it from a word 



THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 345 

which signifies its longevity, while others again believe that the 
true derivation is to be found in a word which signifies ripping 
up or tearing with the beak. 

The Griffon Vulture is found throughout a large portion of 
the Old World, inhabiting nearly all the warmer portions of this 
hemisphere. The colour of the adult bird is a sort of yellowish 
brown, diversified by the black quill feathers and the ruff of 
white down that surrounds the neck. The head and neck are 
without feathers, but are sparingly covered with very short down 
of a similar character to that of the ruff. 

It is really a large bird, being little short of five feet in total 
length, and the expanse of wing measuring about eight feet. 

The Griffon Vulture is very plentiful in Palestine, and, unlike 
the lesser though equally useful Egyptian Vulture, congregates 
together in great numbers, feeding, flying, and herding in 
company. Large flocks of them may be seen daily, soaring high 
in the air, and sweeping their graceful way in the grand curves 
which distinguish the flight of the large birds of prey. They 
are best to be seen in the early morning, being in the habit of 
quitting their rocky homes at daybreak, and indulging in a flight 
for two or three hours, after which they mostly return to the 
rocks, and wait until evening, when they take another short 
flight before retiring to rest. 

Allusion is made in the Scriptures to the gregarious habits 
of the Vultures : " Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the 
eagles be gathered together" (Matt xxiv. 28). That the Vulture, 
and not the eagle, is here signified, is evident from the fact that 
the eagles do not congregate like the Vultures, never being seen 
in greater numbers than two or three together, while the Vultures 
assemble in hundreds. 

The featherless head of the Vulture is mentioned in the Book 
of Micah, chap. i. ver. 16 : " Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy 
delicate children ; enlai-ge thy baldness as the eagle ; for they are 
gone into captivity from thee." It is evident that in this 
passage reference is made, not to the eagle, whose head is thickly 
covered with feathers., but to the Vulture, whose head and neck 
are but scantily sprinkled with white down. Some commenta- 
tors, not aware that the word nesher should have been rendered 
as "vulture," have explained the passage by saying that the 



346 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

prophet referred to the moulting-time of the eagle ; but the 
reader will see that such an explanation is at the best a forced 
one, whereas the reference to the bald head of the Vulture is 
both simple arid natural. 

The voracity of the Vulture, and its capacity for discovering 
food, are both mentioned in Job xxxix. 27 — 30 : " Doth the 
eagle (nesher) mount up at thy command, and make her nest 
on high ? 

" She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the 
rock, and the strong place. 

" From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar 
off. 

" Her young ones also suck up blood : and where the slain 
are, there is she." 

See also Hab. i. 6 — 8, in which the prophet speaks of the 
Chaldeans, " that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march 
through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places 
that are not theirs. 

" They are terrible and dreadful : . . . and their horsemen 
shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from 
far ; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat." 

There is also a curious passage in the Book of Proverbs, chap. 
xxx. ver. 17, which alludes to the carnivorous nature of the bird : 
" The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his 
mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young 
eagles shall eat it." 

Allusion is made in several passages to the swiftness of the 
Vulture, as well as its voracity. See, for example, a portion of 
David's lamentation over the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, who, 
according to the poet's metaphor, " were lovely and pleasant in 
their lives, and in their death they were not divided ; they were 
swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions." 

The "bitter" people — namely, the Chaldeans — are again men- 
tioned in a very similar manner by the prophet Jeremiah : " Our 
persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they 
pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the 
wilderness " (Lam. iv. 19). 

There is something peculiarly appropriate in employing the 
Vulture as an image of strength and swiftness when applied to 
warriors, the bird being an invariablo attendant on the battle, 



THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 347 

and flying to the field of death with marvellous swiftness. AH 
who had ever witnessed a battle were familiar witli the presence 
of the Vulture — the scene of carnage, and the image which is 
employed, would be one which commended itself at once to 
those for whom it was intended. And, as the earlier history of 
the Jewish nation is essentially of a warlike character, we 
cannot wonder that so powerful and familiar an image should 
have been repeatedly introduced into the sacred writings. 

The wonderful powers of sight possessed by this bird are 
mentioned in the passage from Job xxxix. which has already 
been quoted. 

Here it may be as well to say that, piercing as is the vision 
of the Vulture, its visual powers have been much exaggerated. 
It certainly does possess a vision of no ordinary capacity, which 
is able to assume either a telescopic or a microscopic character, 
by means of a complex and marvellous structure, which can 
alter the whole shape of the organ at the will of the bird. 

Not only can the eye be thus altered, but it changes instan- 
taneously, so as to accommodate itself to the task which it is to 
perform. A Vulture, for example, sees from a vast height the 
body of a dead animal, and instantly swoops down upon it like 
an arrow from a bow. In order to enable the bird to see so 
distant an object, the eye has been exercising its telescopic 
powers, and yet, in a second or two, when the Vulture is close 
to its prey, the whole form of the eye must be changed, or 
the bird would mistake its distance, and dash itself to pieces 
on the ground. 

To describe this beautiful piece of mechanism would be outside 
the scope of the present work ; but the reader can find it in 
every good work on comparative anatomy, and is strongly 
advised to make himself master of the means by which a result 
so apparently impossible is secured. 

By means of its powerful eyes, the Vulture can see to an 
enormous distance, and with great clearness, but neither so far 
nor so clearly as is popularly supposed. It is true that, as soon 
as a carcase is discovered, it will be covered with Vultures, who 
arrive from every side, looking at first like tiny specks in the air, 
scarcely perceptible even to practised eyes, and all directing 
their flight to the same point. " Where the carcase is, there 
will the vultures be gathered together." But, although they all 



348 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

fly towards the same spot, it does not follow that they have all 
seen the same object. The fact is, they see and understand each 
others movements. 

A single Vulture, for example, sees a dead or dying sheep, and 
swoops down upon it. The other Vultures which are flying 
about in search of food, and from which the animal in question 
may be concealed, know perfectly well that a Vulture soars high 
in the air when searching for food, and only darts to the earth 
when it has found a suitable prey. They immediately follow its 
example, and in their turn are followed by other Vultures, which 
can see their fellows from a distance, and know perfectly well 
why they are ail converging to one spot. 

In this way all the Vultures of a neighbourhood will under- 
stand, by a very intelligible telegraph, that a dead body of some 
animal has been found, and, aided by their wonderful powers of 
night, will assemble over its body in an almost incredibly short 
space of time. 

The resting-place of the Griffon Vulture is always on some 
lofty spot. The Arabian Vulture will build within easy reach, 
the eagle prefers lofty situations, but nothing but the highest 
and most inaccessible spots will satisfy the Vulture. To reach 
the nest of this bird is therefore a very difficult task, only to 
be attempted by experienced and intrepid cragsmen ; and, in 
consequence, both the eggs and young of the Griffon Vulture 
cannot be obtained except for a very high price. The birds are 
fond of building in the rock-caves which are found in so many 
parts of Palestine, and in some places they fill these places as 
thickly as rooks fill a rookery. 

The fondness of the Vulture for such localities is more than 
once mentioned in Holy Writ. One of these passages, which 
occurrs in Job xxxix. 29, has already been quoted, and another, 
and equally forcible one, is to be found in the Book of the 
Prophet Jeremiah : " Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and 
the pride of thins heart, thou that dwellest in the clefts of 
the rock, that holdest the height of the hill : though thou 
shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle (nesher), I will 
will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord " (Jer. 
xlix. 16). 

In Mr. Tristram's " Land of Israel," there is a very graphic 
description of the Griffon's nests, and of the difficulty expcri- 



THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 349 

enced in reaching them. " A narrow gorge, with limestone cliffs 
from five hundred to six hundred feet high, into which the sun 
never penetrates, walls the rapid brook on each side so closely 
that we often had to ride in the bed of the stream. The cliffs 
are perforated with caves at all heights, wholly inaccessible to 
man, the secure resting-place of hundreds of noble griffons, some 
lammergeiers, lanner falcons, and several species of eagle. . . . 
One day in the ravine well repaid us, though so terrific were 
the precipices, that it was quite impossible to reach any of the 
nests with which it swarmed. 

" We were more successful in the Wady Hamam, the south- 
west end of the plain, the entrance from Hattin and the Buttauf, 
where we spent three days in exploration. The cliffs, though 
reaching the height of fifteen hundred feet, rise like terraces, 
with enormous masses of debris, and the wood is half a mile 
wide. By the aid of Giacomo, who proved himself an expert 
rope-climber, we reaped a good harvest of griffons' eggs, some 
of the party being let down by ropes, while those above were 
guided in working them by signals from others below in the 
valley. It required the aid of a party of a dozen to capture 
these nests. The idea of scaling the cliff with ropes was quite 
new to some Arabs who were herding cattle above, and who 
could not, excepting one little girl, be induced to render any 
assistance. She proved herself most sensible and efficient in 
telegraphing. 

"While capturing ihe griffons' nests, we were re-enacting a 
celebrated siege in Jewish history. Close to us, at the head of 
the cliffs which form the limits of the celebrated Plain of 
Hattin, were the ruins of Irbid, the ancient Arbela, marked 
principally by the remains of a synagogue, of which some 
marble shafts and fragments of entablature, like those of Tell 
Hum, are still to be seen, and were afterwards visited by us. 

" Hosea mentions the place apparently as a strong fortress ; 
' All thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth- 
arbel in the day of battle' (Hos. x. 14,. Perhaps the prophet 
here refers to the refuges in the rocks below. 

" The long series of chambers and galleries in the face of the 
precipice are called by the Arabs Kulat Ibn Maan, and are 
very fully described by Josephus These cliffs were the homes 
of a set of bandits, who resided here with their families, and for 



350 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

years set the power of Herod the Great at defiance. At length, 
when all other attempts at scaling the fortress had failed, he let 
down soldiers at this very spot in boxes, by chains, who attacked 
the robbers with long hooks, and succeeded in rooting them all 
out. The exploit was familiar to us by an engraving of the 
Penny Magazine of old, and little did we dream that we should 
one day storm those very caves in a similar way ourselves. We 
could not but regret that Herod had neglected to leave his 
chains and grappling-irons for our use. 

"The rock galleries, though now only tenanted by griffons, 
are very complete and perfect, and beautifully built. Long 
galleries wind backwards and forwards in the cliff side, their 
walls being built with dressed stone, flush with the precipice, 
and often opening into spacious chambers. Tier after tier rise 
one after another with projecting windows, connected by narrow 
staircases, carried sometimes upon arches, and in the upper 
portions rarely broken away. In many of the upper chambers 
to which we were let down, the dust of ages had accumulated, 
undisturbed by any foot save that of the birds of the air ; and 
here we rested during the heat of the day, with the plains and 
lake set as in a frame before us. We obtained a full zoological 
harvest, as in three days we captured fourteeen nests of 
griffons." 

Although these caverns and rocky passages are much more 
accessible than most of the places whereon the Griffons build, 
the natives never venture to enter them, being deterred not so 
much by their height, as by their superstitious fears. The 
Griffons instinctively found out that man never entered these 
caverns, and so took possession of them. 

As the young Griffons are brought up in these lofty and pre- 
cipitous places, it is evident that their first flight must be a 
dangerous experiment, requiring the aid of the parent birds. 
At first the young are rather nervous at the task which lies 
before them, and shrink from trusting themselves to the air. 
The parents, however, encourage them to use their wings, take 
short flights in order to set them an example, and, when they at 
last venture from the nest, accompany and encourage them in 
their first journey. 

Even this habit has been noted by the sacred writers, and 
been forcibly employed as an image of divine protection. See 



THE GRIFFON VULTURE. 351 

the Song of Moses, in which the aged leader, whose forty years' 
work was at last finished, recapitulates the mercies vouchsafed 
to the people of Israel, and exhorts them against the sin of 
ingratitude : " For the Lord's portion is His people ; Jacob is the 
lot of His inheritance. 

" He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling 
wilderness ; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him 
as the apple of His eye. 

" As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, 
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her 
wings ; 

" So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange 
god with him " (Deut, xxxii. 9 — 12). 

The strength of flight of the Vulture is also noticed by the 
sacred writers. See, for example, Exod. xix. 4 : "Ye have seen 
• what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' 
(nesherim) wings, and brought you unto myself." 

This passage had a peculiar force when addressed to the 
Hebrews, the Vulture being oue of the chief emblems of Egyp- 
tian power, and its outspread wings continually recurring on the 
grand monuments and temples with which they must have been 
so familiar. 

Strangely enough, in their second captivity, the Jew r s met 
with the same emblem among the Assyrians. For example, 
their god Nisroch, whom we find mentioned as specially wor- 
shipped by Sennacherib, was a vulture-headed deity, bearing 
not only the head of the bird, but also its wings. The vast 
wings of the Vulture were by the Assyrians used as types of 
Divine power, and were therefore added, not only to human 
figures, but to those of beasts. The human-headed and vulture- 
winged bulls of Mneveh, with which we are now so familiar, 
are good examples of this peculiar imagery. 

The name Nisroch, by the way, is evidently the same word as 
nesher, and bears even closer resemblance to the Arabic niss'r. 
This bird was also the war standard of Assyria, just as the eagle 
is that of France, and the metaphors used by Habbakuk and 
Jeremiah had therefore a doubly forcible sense. 

We find the same bird employed as a visible emblem of Divine 
omnipresence and omniscience in the visions seen by Ezekiel 
and St. John : " And every one had four faces ; the first face 



352 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a 
man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of 
an eagle " (Ezek. x. 14). Then, in the Kevelation, chap. iv. 
ver. 6, 7, is the account of a vision of very similar character : 
" In the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were 
four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 

" And the first beast was like a lion, and the second was like 
a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth 
beast was like a flying eagle." 

From these passages we shall see that the Griffon Vulture 
was not held by the Scriptural writers in the contempt with 
which we are apt to regard it. Not having any Vultures resi- 
dent in our country, for the simple reason that there is not 
enough carrion in the whole of England to feed a single Vulture 
for a month, we have no practical knowledge of them, and are 
apt to confound, under the common title of Vulture, birds of 
most dissimilar aspect. Some of them, especially those which 
inhabit the West Indies, are mean-looking, slouching, sneaking, 
obscene birds, which, even when brought to this country, and 
nourished on fresh meat, cannot be regarded without inspiring 
a feeling of disgust. 

But there are others which are really grand and noble birds, 
which excite admiration instead of disgust, and one of the chief 
among these is the Griffon Vulture. Scavenger though it be, it 
is not disgusting in its habits, and may even be called a cleanly 
bird. It is intelligent, after its way, and is quite as susceptible 
of human teaching as the falcon or the cormorant. It is not 
quarrelsome, and, even when feeding, does not try to drive away 
its neighbour, but feeds alongside of him with perfect amity 
and quiet. 

In common with other birds of its order, the Griffon Vulture 
is a very long-lived bird, and even this characteristic is noticed 
in the well-known passage, " Bless the Lord, my soul, and 
forget not all His benefits : . . . . who satisfieth thy mouth with 
good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's" 
(Ps. ciii. 1, 5). 

This passage has often been absurdly misinterpreted by com- 
mentators who have not appreciated the metaphorical style of 
all Oriental poetry. Taking the passage in its exact literal sense, 
and not knowing that reference is made to the Vulture and not 




•nil'; VULTURE, OB EAGLE OF SCRIPTURE. 
u Whon»!ioeTer tin- carcase is. there will the eagles be jrathered together.'* — Matt. xxiv. 2i 



THE GK1FF0N VULTURE. 353 

to the eagle, they have taken for granted that the eagle had some 
mode of renewing its youth, and, in fact, after becoming old, 
went through some process by which it shook off the decrepitude 
of old age, and became young again. Others, seeing that such an 
interpretation was both strained and far-fetched, have thought 
that reference was made to the annual moult of the eagle, which 
they fancied to be of a very severe character, the whole of the 
feathers being shed at once, so as to leave the bird naked and 
helpless, and then being restored with added strength and 
beauty. 

It is evident, however, that no such interpretation is needed, 
and that the Psalmist, when using the expression " renewing the 
youth like an eagle's," only employed a metaphorical expression 
significative of longevity. 

If we recapitulate the various passages in which the Nesher 
is mentioned in the Scriptures, we shall find that the sacred 
writers wure thoroughly acquainted with the bird, and that they 
wrote of it with an occasional fulness and an invariable pre- 
cision which shows how familiar they were with a bird at once 
so plentiful and so conspicuous. 

The illustration represents one of the rocky gorges so plentiful 
in Palestine, inhabited by a number of Griffon Vultures. Some 
of them are feeding upon the carcase of a dead animal, another 
is upon her nest, and several Vultures, who have gorged them- 
selves with food after their fashion, are sitting listlessly on the 
rock, in some of the singular positions which this bird affects. 
There is, perhaps, no bird which has a more curious set of 
attitudes than the Griffon Vulture, or which exhibits so different 
an aspect at various times. 

In flight it is one of the most magnificent birds that can be 
seen, and even when perched it often retains a certain look of 
majesty and grandeur. Sometimes, however, especially when 
basking in the sun, it assumes a series of attitudes which are 
absolutely grotesque, and convert the noble-looking bird into a 
positively ludicrous object. At one moment it will sit all 
hunched up, its head sunk between its shoulders, and one wing 
trailing behind it as if broken. At another it will bend its legs 
and sit down on the ankle-joint, pushing its feet out in front, and 
supporting itself by the stiff feathers of its tail. Often it will 
,.ouch nearly flat on the ground, partly spread its wings, and 
•li 



354 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

allow their tips to rest on the earth, and sometimes it will sup- 
port nearly all the weight of its body on the wings, which rest, 
in a half doubled state, on the ground. I have before me a great 
number of sketches, taken in a single day, of the attitudes 
assumed by one of these birds, every one of which is strikingly 
different from the others, and transforms the whole shape of 
the bird so much that it is scarcely recognisable as the same 
individual. 



THE EAGLE. 



Signification of the word Asniyeh — The Golden Eagle and its habits — The Imperial 
Eagle — Its solitary mode of life — The Short -toed Eagle — Its domestic habits 
and fondness for the society of man — The Osprey, or Fishing Eagle — Its mode 
of catching fish — Its distribution in Palestine. 

As to the Eagle, rightly so called, there is little doubt that it is 
one of the many birds of prey that seem to have been classed 
under the general title of Asniyeh — the word which in the 
Authorized Version of the Bible is rendered as Osprey. A 
similar confusion is observable in the modern Arabic, one word, 
ogab, being applied indiscriminately to all the Eagles and the 
large falconidce. 

The chief of the true Eagles, namely, the Golden Eagle 
(A guila chrysaetos) , is one of the inhabitants of Palestine, and 
is seen frequently, though never in great numbers. Indeed, its 
predacious habits unfit it for associating with its kind. Any 
animal which lives chiefly, if not wholly, by the chase, requires 
a large district in order to enable it to live, and thus twenty 
or thirty eagles will be scattered over a district of twice the 
number of miles. Like the lion among the mammalia, the 
Eagle leads an almost solitary life, scarcely ever associating with 
any of its kind except its mate and its young. 

Although it lives principally by the chase, it has no objection 
to carrion, and, as has already been mentioned on page 342, may 
be seen feeding on a dead animal in company with the lessei 




THE EAGLE. 
Thou-jh thou Bhouldest make thy neat as high as the eagle." -Jkr. xlix. 16. 



THE EAGLE. 355 

vultures, though it retires before the lordly griffon. Being so 
thinly scattered, it would not be so conspicuous a bird as the 
griffon, which is not only very much larger, but associates in 
great numbers, and probably on that account no definite species 
of Eagle seems to be mentioned in Holy Writ. 

Four or live species of Eagle are known to inhabit Palestine. 
There is, for example, the Imperial Eagle (Aquila mogilnik), 
which may be distinguished from the Golden Eagle by a white 
patch on the shoulders, and the long, lancet-shaped feathers of 
the head and neck. These feathers are of a fawn colour, and 
contrast beautifully with the deep black-brown of the back and 
wings. It is not very often seen, being a bird that loves the 
forest, and that does not care to leave the shelter of the trees. 
It is tolerably common in Palestine. 

Then there are several of the allied species, of which the best 
example is perhaps the Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus ci?icreus), a 
bird which is extremely plentiful in the Holy Land — so plentiful 
indeed that, as Mr. Tristram remarks, there are probably twice 
as many of the Short-toed Eagles in Palestine as of all the other 
species put together. The genus to which this bird belongs does 
not take rank w r ith the true Eagles, but is supposed by sys- 
tematic naturalists to hold an intermediate place between the 
true Eagles and the ospreys. 

The Short-toed Eagle is seldom a carrion-eater, preferring to 
kill its prey for itself. It feeds mostly on serpents and other 
reptiles, and is especially fond of frogs. It is a large and some- 
what heavily built bird, lightness and swiftness being far less 
necessary than strength in taking the animals on which it feeds. 
It is rather more than two feet in length, and is a decidedly 
handsome bird, the back being dark brown, and the under parts 
white, covered with crescent-shaped black spots. 



856 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE OSPEEY. 

The Osprey, or Fishing Eagle— Its geographical range— Mode of securing prey — 
Structure of its feet — Its power of balancing itself in the dr. 

We now come to the Osprey itself (Pandion haliaetus), which 
was undoubtedly one of the birds grouped together under the 
collective term Asniyeh. This word occurs only in the two 
passages in Deut. xiv. and Lev. xi. which have been several 
times quoted already, and need not be mentioned again. 

This fine bird is spread over a very large range of country, and 
is found in the New World as well as the Old. In consequence 
of its peculiar habits, it is often called the Fishing Eagle. 

The Osprey is essentially a fish-eater. It seems very strange 
that a predacious bird allied to the eagles, none of which birds 
can swim, much less dive, should obtain its living from the 
water. That the cormorant and other diving birds should do so 
is no matter of surprise, inasmuch as they are able to pursue the 
fish in their own element, and catch them by superior speed. 
But any bird which cannot dive, and which yet lives on fish, is 
forced to content itself with those fish that come to the surface 
of the water, a mode of obtaining a livelihood which does not 
appear to have much chance of success. Yet the Osprey does on 
a large scale what the kingfisher does on a small one, and con- 
trives to find abundant food in the water. 

Its method of taking prey is almost exactly like that which is 
employed by the kingfisher. When it goes out in search of 
food, it soars into the air, and floats in circles over the water, 
watching every inch of it as narrowly as a kestrel watches a 
stubble-field. No sooner does a fish rise toward the surface to 
take a fly, or to leap into the air for sport, than the Osprey darts 
downwards, grasps the fish in its talons, drags the struggling 
prey from the water, and with a scream of joy and triumph 
bears it away to shore, where it can be devoured at leisure. 

The bird never dives, neither does it seize the fish with its beak 
like the kingfisher. It plunges but slightly into the water, as 







THE 03PREY. 
"Th«»se arc they of which ye shall rv>i eit; the ei-.'le, and the ossifragf, and the osprey.' 1 — 

Dkut. xiv. 1 2. 



THE KITE. 357 

otherwise it would not be able to use its strong wings and carry 
off its prey. In order to enable the bird to seize the hard and 
slippery body of the fish, it is furnished with long, very sharp, 
and boldly-hooked talons, which force themselves into the sides 
of the fish, and hold it as with grappling irons. 

In order to enable it to hover over the water, and to watch the 
surface carefully, it is possessed of wonderful powers of flight, 
being able to balance itself in one spot without seeming to move 
a wing, and having the singular facility of doing so even when a 
tolerably strong breeze is blowing. It has even been observed 
to maintain its place unmoved when a sharp squall swept over 
the spot. 

Although not very plentiful in Palestine, nor indeed in any 
other country, it is seen throughout the whole of that country 
where it can find a sufficiency of water. It prefers the sea- 
shore and the rivers of the coast, and is said to avoid the Sea of 
Galilee. 



THE KITE, OR VULTURE OF SCRIPTURE. 

The word Dayah and its signification — Dayah a collective term for different 
species of Kites — The Common or Red Kite plentiful in Palestine — Its piercing 
sight and habit of soaring— The Black Kite of Palestine and its habits — The 
Egyptian Kite — The Raah or Glede of Scripture — The Buzzards and their 
habits — The Peregrine Falcon an inhabitant of Central Palestine, and the 
Lanner of the eastern parts of the country. 

In Lev. xi. 14 and Deut. xiv. 13, we find the Vulture among the 
list of birds which the Jews were not permitted to eat. The 
word which is translated as Vulture is dayah, and we find it 
occurring again in Isaiah xxxiv. 1 5, " There shall the vultures 
also be gathered, every one with her mate." There is no doubt, 
however, that this translation of the word is an incorrect one, 
and that it ought to be rendered as Kite. In Job xxviii. 7, there 
is a similar word, ayah, which is also translated as Vulture, and 
which is acknowledged to be not a Vulture, but one of the 
Kites : " There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which 
the vulture's eye hath not seen." Both these words are nearly 



358 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



identical with modern Arabic terms which are employed rather 
loosely to signify several species of Kite. Buxtorf, in his 
Hebrew Lexicon, gives the correct rendering, translating dayah as 
Milvus, and the Vulgate in one or two places gives the same 
translation, though in others it renders the word as Vulture. 

Mr. Tristram, who has given much attention to this subject, 
is inclined to refer the word ayah to the Common Kite (Milvtcs 




THE KITE, OR VULTURE OF SCRIPTURE. 

There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen." 

Job xxviii. 7. 



regalis), which was once so plentiful in this country, and is now 
nearly extinct ; and dayah to the Black Kite (Milvus atra). He 
founds this distinction on the different habits of the two species, 
the Common or Eed Kite being thinly scattered, and being in the 
habit of soaring into the air at very great heights, and the latter 
being very plentiful and gregarious. 
We will first take the Red Kite. 

"This bird is scattered all over Palestine, feeding chiefly on tho 
smaller birds, mice, reptiles, and fish. In the capture of fish the 
Kite is almost as expert as the osprey, darting from a great 



THE KITE. 359 

height into the water, and bearing off the fish in its claws. The 
wings of this bird are very long and powerful, and bear it 
through the air in a peculiarly graceful flight. It is indeed in 
consequence of this flight that it has been called the Glede, the 
word being derived from its gliding movements. 

The sight of this bird is remarkably keen and piercing, and, 
from the vast elevation to which it soars when in search of 
food, it is able to survey the face of the country beneath, and to 
detect the partridge, quail, chicken, or other creature that will 
serve it for food. This piercing sight and habit of soaring 
render the passage in Job peculiarly appropriate to this species 
of Kite, though it does not express the habits of the other. 
Should the Kite suspect danger when forced to leave its nest, it 
escapes by darting rapidly into the air, and soaring at a vast 
height above the trees among which its home is made. From 
that elevation it can act as a sentinel, and will not come down 
again until it is assured of safety. 

Of the habits of the Black Kite {Milvus air a), Mr. Tris- 
tram gives an admirable description. " The habits of the bird 
bear out the allusion in Isa. xxxiv. 15, for it is, excepting 
during the winter three months, so numerous everywhere in 
Palestine as to be almost gregarious. It returns about the be- 
ginning of March, and scatters itself over the whole country, 
preferring especially the neighbourhood of valleys, where it is a 
welcome and unmolested guest. It does not appear to attack 
the poultry, among whom it may often be seen feeding on 
garbage. It is very sociable, and the slaughter of a sheep at one 
of the tents will soon attract a large party of black kites, which 
swoop down regardless of man and guns, and enjoy a noisy 
scramble for the refuse, chasing each other in a laughable 
fashion, and sometimes enabling the wily raven to steal off with 
the coveted morsel during their contentions. It is the butt of 
all the smaller scavengers, and is evidently most unpopular with 
the crows and daws, and even rollers, who enjoy the amuse- 
ment of teasing it in their tumbling flight, which is a manoeuvre 
most perplexing to the kite." 

The same writer proceeds to mention that the Black Kite 
unlike the red species, is very careless about the position of its 
nest, and never even attempts to conceal it, sometimes building 



360 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

it in a tree, sometimes on a rock-ledge, and sometimes in a bush 
growing on the rocks. It seems indeed desirous of making the 
nest as conspicuous as possible, and hangs it all over with bits 
of cloth, strips of bark, wings of birds, and even the cast skins 
of serpents. 

Another species (Milvus jEgyptiacus) is sometimes called the 
Black Kite from the dark hue of its plumage, but ought rather 
to retain the title of Egyptian Kite. Unlike the black kite, 
this bird is a great thief, and makes as much havoc among 
poultry as the red kite. It is also a robber of other birds, and if 
it should happen to see a weaker bird with food, it is sure to 
attack and rob it. Like the black kite, it is fond of the society 
of man, and haunts the villages in great numbers, for the pur- 
pose of eating the offal, which in Oriental towns is simply flung 
into the streets to be devoured by the dogs, vultures, kites, and 
other scavengers, without whom no village would be habitable 
for a month. 

Whether the word raah, which is translated as Glede in 
Deut. xiv. 13, among the list of birds which may not be eaten, 
is one of these species of Kite, or a bird of a different group, is a 
very doubtful point. This is the only passage in which the 
word occurs, and we have but small grounds for definitely iden- 
tifying it with any one species. The Hebrew Bible retains the 
word Glede, but affixes a mark of doubt to it, and several com- 
mentators are of opinion that the word is a wrong reading of 
day ah, which occurs in the parallel passage in Lev. xi. 14. The 
reading of the Septuagint follows this interpretation, and renders 
it as Vulture in both cases. Buxtorf translates the word raah 
as Rook, but suggests that dayah is the correct reading. 

Accepting, however, the word raah, we shall find that it is 
derived from a root which signifies sight or vision, especially of 
some particular object, so that a piercing sight would therefore 
be the chief characteristic of the bird, which, as we know, is one 
of the attributes of the Kites, together with other birds of prey, 
so that it evidently must be classed among the group with which 
we are now concerned. It has been suggested that, granting 
the raah to be a species distinct from the dayah, it is a collective 
term for the larger falcons and buzzards, several species of which 
inhabit Palestine, and are not distinctly mentioned in the Bible. 



THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 



361 



Several species of buzzard inhabit the Holy Land, and there 
is no particular reason why they should be mentioned except by 
a collective name. Some of the buzzards are very large birds, 
and though their wings are short when compared with those of 
the vultures and eagles, the flight of the bird is both powerful 
and graceful. It is not, however, remarkable for swiftness, and 




THE PER.EGR1NE FALCON, OR OLEDE OF SCRIPTURE. 

•And the Glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his linrf."— Deut. xiv. 13. 



never was employed, like the falcon, in catching other birds 
being reckoned as one of the useless and cowardly birds of 
prey. Tn consonance with this opinion, to compare a man to a 
buzzard was thought a most cutting insult. 

As a general rule, it does not chase its prev like the eagles or 
the large-winged falcons, but perches on a rock or tree, watches 



362 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

for some animal on which it can feed, pounces on it, and returns 
to its post, the whole movements being very like those of the 
flycatcher. This sluggishness of disposition, and the soft and 
almost owl-like plumage, have been the means of bringing the 
bird into contempt among falconers. 

As to the large falcons, which seem to be included in the term 
raah, the chief of them is the Peregrine Falcon (Falco pere- 
grinus), which is tolerably common in the Holy Land. In his 
" Land of Israel," Mr. Tristram gives several notices of this bird, 
from which we may take the following picture from a description 
of a scene at Endor. "Dreary and desolate looked the plain, 
though of exuberant fertility. Here and there might be seen 
a small flock of sheep or herd of cattle, tended by three or 
four mounted villagers, armed with their long firelocks, and 
pistols and swords, on the watch against any small party of 
marauding cattle-lifters. 

" Griffon vultures were wheeling in circles far over the 
rounded top of Tabor ; and here and there an eagle was soaring 
beneath them in search of food, but at a most inconvenient dis- 
tance from our guns. Hariers were sweeping more rapidly and 
closely over the ground, where lambs appeared to be their only 
prey ; and a noble peregrine falcon, which in Central Palestine 
does not give place to the more eastern lanner, was perched on 
an isolated rock, calmly surveying the scene, and permitting us 
to approach and scrutinize him at our leisure." 

The habit of perching on the rock, as mentioned above, is very 
characteristic of the Peregrine Falcon, who loves the loftiest 
and most craggy cliffs, and makes its nest in spots wdiich can 
only be reached by a bold and experienced climber. The nests 
of this bird are never built in close proximity, the Peregrine 
preferring to have its home at least a mile from the nest of any 
other of ■ its kinsfolk. Sometimes it makes a nest in lofty trees, 
taking possession of the deserted home of some other bird ; but 
it loves the cliff better than the tree, and seldom builds in the 
latter when the former is attainable. 

In the passage from the " Land of Israel " is mentioned the 
Lanner Falcon (Falco lanarius), another of the larger falcons 
to which the term raah may have been applied. 

This bird is much larger than the Peregrine Falcon, and, in- 
deed, is very little less than the great gerfalcon itself. It is one 



THE LANNER FALCON. 



363 



of the birds that were reckoned among the noble falcons ; and 
the female, which is much larger and stronger than the male, 
was employed for the purpose of chasing the kite, whose long 
and powerful wings could not always save it from such a foe. 

Although the Lanner has been frequently mentioned among 
the British birds, and the name is therefore familiar to us, it is 




THE LAKNBR FAX.OOK. 



not even a visitor of our island. The mistake has occurred by 
an error in nomenclature, the young female Peregrine Falcon, 
which is much larger and darker than the male bird, having 
been erroneously called by the name of Lanner. 

In the illustration, a pair of Lanner Falcons are depicted as 
pursuing some of the rock-pigeons which abound in Palestine, 
the attitudes of both birds being taken from life. 



364 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE HAWK. 

The Netz or Hawk— Number of species probably grouped under that name — Bare 
occurrence of the word — The Sparrow-Hawk and its general habits — Its place 
of nesting — The Kestrel, or Wind-hover — Various names by which it is known 
in England — Its mode of feeding and curious flight — The Hariers— Probable 
derivation of the name — Species of Harier known to inhabit Palestine — 
Falconry apparently unknown to the ancient Jews. 

There is no doubt that a considerable number of species are 
grouped together under the single title Netz, or Hawk, a word 
which is rightly enough translated. That a great number of 
birds should have been thus confounded together is not sur- 
prising, seeing that even in this country and at the present time, 
the single word Hawk may signify any one of at least twelve 
different species. The various falcons, the hariers, the kestrel, 
the sparrow-hawk, and the hobbies, are one and all called 
popularly by the name of Hawk, and it is therefore likely 
that the Hebrew word Netz would signify as many species as 
the English word Hawk. From them we will select one or two 
of theprincipal species. 

In the first place, the word is of very rare occurrence. We 
only find it three times. It first occurs in Lev. xi. 16, in which 
it is named, together with the eagle, the ossifrage, and many 
other birds, as among the unclean creatures, to eat which was an 
abomination. It is next found in the parallel passage in Deut. 
xiv. 15, neither of which portions of Scripture need be quoted 
at length. 

That the word netz was used in its collective sense is very 
evident from the addition which is made to it in both cases. 
The Hawk, "after its kind," is forbidden, showing therefore 
that several kinds or species of Hawk were meant. Indeed, any 
specific detail would be quite needless, as the collective term 
was quite a sufficient indication, and, having named the vultures, 
eagles, and larger birds of prey, the simple word netz was con- 



THE HAWK 365 

sidered by the sacred writer as expressing the rest of the birds 
of prey. 

We find the word once more in that part of the Bible to which 
we usually look for any reference to natural history. In Job 
xxxix. 26, we have the words, "Doth the hawk fly by thy 
wisdom, and turn [or stretch] her wings toward the south ? " 
The precise signification of this passage is rather doubtful, but 
it is generally considered to refer to the migration of several 
of the Hawk tribe. That the bird in question was distinguished 
for its power of flight is evident from the fact that the sacred 
poet has selected that one attribute as the most characteristic 
of the Netz. 

Taking first the typical example of the Hawks, we find that 
the Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter nisus) is plentiful in Palestine, 
finding abundant food in the smaller birds of the country. It 
selects for its nest just the spots which are so plentiful in the 
Holy Land, i.e. the crannies of rocks, and the tops of tall trees. 
Sometimes it builds in deserted ruins, but its favourite spot 
seems to be the lofty tree-top, and, in default of that, the rock- 
crevice. It seldom builds a nest of its own, but takes possession 
of that which has been made by some other bird. Some orni- 
thologists think that it looks out for a convenient nest, say of 
the crow or magpie, and then ejects the rightful owner. I am 
inclined to think, however, that it mostly takes possession of a 
nest that is already deserted, without running the risk of fighting 
such enemies as a pair of angry magpies. This opinion is 
strengthened by the fact that the bird resorts to the same nest 
year after year. 

It is a bold and dashing bird, though of no great size, and 
when wild and free displays a courage which it seems to lose in 
captivity. As is the case with so many of the birds, the female 
is much larger than her mate, the former weighing about six 
ounces, and measuring about a foot in length, and the latter 
weighing above nine ounces, and measuring about fifteen inches 
in length. 

The most plentiful of the smaller Hawks of Palestine is the 
Common Kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius). This is the same 
species with which we are so familiar in England under the 
names of Kestrel, Wind-hover, and Stannel Hawk. 



366 BIBLE ANTMALS. 

It derives its name of Wind-hover from its remarkable habit 
of hovering, head to windward, over some spot for many minutes 
together. This action is always performed at a moderate dis- 
tance from the ground ; some naturalists saying that the Hawk in 
question never h overs at an elevation exceeding forty feet, while 



KESTREL. 

" Doth the Hawk fly by thy wisdom?"— Job xxxix. 26. 

others, myself included, have seen the bird hovering at a height 
of twice as many yards. Generally, however, it prefers a lower 
distance, and is able by employing this manoeuvre to survey a 
tolerably large space beneath. As its food consists in a very 
great measure of field-mice, the Kestrel is thus able by means 
of its telescopic eyesight to see if a mouse rises from its hole ; 
and if it should do so, the bird drops on it and secures it in its 
claws. 

Unlike the sparrow-hawk, the Kestrel is undoubtedly gre- 
garious, and will build its nest in close proximity to the habita- 
tions of other birds, a number of nests being often found within 
a few yards of each other. Mr. Tristram remarks that he has 
found its nest in the recesses of the caverns occupied by the 



THE HAWK. 367 

griffon vultures, and that the Kestrel also builds close to the 
eagles, and is the only bird which is permitted to do so. It also 
builds in company with the jackdaw. 

Several species of Kestrel are known, and of them at least 
two inhabit the Holy Land, the second being a much smaller 
bird than the Common Kestrel, and feeding almost entirely on 
insects, which it catches with its claws, the common chafers 
forming its usual prey. Great numbers of these birds live 
together, and as they rather affect the society of mankind, they 
are fond of building their nests in convenient crannies in the 
mosques or churches. Independently of its smaller size, it may 
be distinguished from the Common Kestrel by the whiteness of 
its claws. 

The illustration is drawn from a sketch taken from life. The 
bird hovered so near a house, and remained so long in one place, 
that the artist fixed a telescope and secured an exact sketch of 
the bird in the peculiar attitude which it is so fond of assuming. 
After a while, the Kestrel ascended to a higher elevation, and 
then resumed its hovering, in the attitude which is shown in the 
upper figure. In consequence of the great abundance of this 
species in Palestine, and the peculiarly conspicuous mode of 
balancing itself in the air while in search of prey, we may feel 
sure that the sacred writers had it specially in their minds when 
they used the collective term Netz. 

The Kestrel has a very large geographical range, being 
plentiful not only in England and Palestine, but in Northern 
and Southern Europe, throughout the greater part of Asia, 
in Siberia, and in portions of Africa. The bird, therefore, is 
capable of enduring both heat and cold, and, as is often the 
case with those creatures that are useful to man, is a perfect 
cosmopolitan. 

It is easily trained, and, although in the old hawking days it 
was considered a bird which a noble could not carry, it can be 
trained to chase the smaller birds as successfully as the falcons 
can be taught to pursue the heron. The name Tinnunculus is 
supposed by some to have been given to the bird in allusion to 
its peculiar cry, which is clear, shrill, and consists of a single 
note several times repeated. 

On page 361 the reader may see a representation of a pair of 
Harier Hawks flying below the rock on which the peregrine 



368 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

falcon has perched, and engaged in pursuing one of the smaller 
birds. 

They have been introduced because several species of Harier 
are to be found in Palestine, where they take, among the plains 
and lowlands, the place which is occupied by the other hawks 
and falcons among the rocks. 

The name of Harier appears to be given to these birds on 
account of their habit of regularly quartering the ground over 
which they fly when in search of prey, just like hounds when 
searching for hares. This bird is essentially a haunter of flat 
and marshy lands, where it finds frogs, mice, lizards, on which 
it usually feeds. It does not, however, confine itself to such 
food, but will chase and kill most of the smaller birds, and 
occasionally will catch even the leveret, the rabbit, the par- 
tridge, and the curlew. 

When it chases winged prey, it seldom seizes the bird in the 
air, but almost invariably keeps above it, and gradually drives it 
to the ground. It will be seen, therefore, that its flight is 
mostly low, as suits the localities in which it lives, and it seldom 
soars to any great height, except when it amuses itself by rising 
and wheeling in circles together with its mate. This proceeding 
generally takes place before nest-building. The usual flight is 
a mixture of that of the kestrel and the falcon, the Hariei 
sometimes poising itself over some particular spot, and at others 
shooting forwards through the air with motionless wings. 

Unlike the falcons and most of the hawks, the Harier does 
not as a rule perch on rocks, but prefers to sit very upright on 
the ground, perching generally on a mole-hill, stone, or some 
similar elevation. Even its nest is made on the ground, and is 
composed of reeds, sedges, sticks, and similar matter, materials 
that can be procured from marshy land. The nest is always 
elevated a foot or so from the ground, and has occasionally been 
found on the top of a mound more than a yard in height. It 
is, however, conjectured that in such cases the mound is made 
by one nest being built upon the remains of another. The 
object of the elevated nest is probably to preserve the eggs in 
case of a flood. 

At least five species of Hariers are known to exist in the 
Holy Land, two of which are among the British birds, namely, 
the Marsh Harier (Circles ceruginosvs), sometimes called the Duck 



THE HAWK. 369 

Hawk and the Moor Buzzard, and the Hen Harier (Circus 
cyaneus), sometimes called the White Hawk, Dove Hawk, or Blue 
Hawk, on account of the plumage of the male, which differs 
greatly according to age ; and the Eing -tailed Hawk, on account 
of the dark bars which appear on the tail of the female. All 
the Hariers are remarkable for the circlet of feathers that sur- 
rounds the eyes, and which resembles in a lesser degree the bold 
feather-circle around the eye of the owl tribe. 

Before taking leave of the Hawks, it is as well to notice the 
entire absence in the Scriptures of any reference to falconry. 
Now, seeing that the art of catching birds and animals by means 
of Hawks is a favourite amusement among Orientals, as has 
already been mentioned when treating of the gazelle (page 139), 
and knowing the unchanging character of the East, we cannot 
but think it remarkable that no reference should be made to this 
sport in the Scriptures. 

It is true that in Palestine itself there would be but little 
scope for falconry, the rough hilly ground and abundance of 
cultivated soil rendering such an amusement almost impossible. 
Besides, the use of the falcon implies that of the horse, and, as 
we have already seen, the horse was scarcely ever used except 
for military purposes. 

Had, therefore, the experience of the Israelites been confined 
to Palestine, there would have been good reason for tlie silence 
of the sacred writers on this subject. But when we remember 
that the surrounding country is well adapted for falconry, that 
the amusement is practised there at the present day, and that 
the Israelites passed so many years as captives in other countries, 
we can but wonder that the Hawks should never be mentioned 
as aids to bird-catching. We find that other bird-catching 
implements are freely mentioned and employed as familiar 
symbols, such as the gin, the net, the snare, the trap, and so 
i'orth ; but that there is not a single passage in which the Hawks 
are mentioned as employed in falconry. 



370 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE OWL. 

The words which have been translated as Owl — The Cos, or Little Owl — Use made 
of the Little Owl in bird-catching — Habits of the bird — The Barn, Screech, 
or White Owl a native of Palestine — The Yanshuph, or Egyptian Eagle Owl — 
Its food and nest — The Lilith, or Night Monster — Various interpretations of 
the word — The Kippoz probably identical with the Scops Owl, or Marouf. 

Tn various parts of the Old Testament there occur several 
words which are translated as Owl in the Authorized Version, 
and in most cases the rendering is acknowledged to be the 
correct one, while in one or two instances there is a difference of 
opinion on the subject. 

Tn Lev. xi. 16, 17, we find the following birds reckoned among 
those which are an abomination, and which might not be eaten 
by the Israelites : " The owl, and the night-hawk, and the 
cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind ; 

" And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl." 
Here, then, we have in close proximity the word Owl repeated 
three times, and the same repetition occurs in the parallel 
passage in Deut. xiv. Now the words which are here translated 
as Owl are totally different words in the Hebrew, so that if we 
leave them untranslated, the passages will run as follow : "And 
the Bath-hay a 'anah, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and 
the hawk after his kind ; 

" And the Cos, and the cormorant, and the Yanshuph." 
Taking these words in order, we find in the first place that 
the Jewish Bible accepts the translation of the words cds and 
yansh&ph, merely affixing to them the mark of doubt. But it 
translates the word bath-hay a anah as Ostrich, without adding 
the doubtful mark. Now the same word occurs in several 
other passages of Scripture, the first being in Job xxx. 29 : 
" I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls" In the 
marginal reading of the Authorized Version, which, as the reader 
must bear in mind, is of equal value with the text, the rendering 
is the same as that of the Jewish Bible, and in several other 



THE OWL. 371 

passages the same reading is followed. We therefore accept the 
word bath-hay a' anah as the ostrich, and dismiss it from amon^ 
the owls. 

Coming now to the other words, we find in the passages 
already quoted the words cds and yanshilph. Both those words 
occur in other parts of Scripture, and evidently are the names 
of nocturnal birds that haunt ruins and lonely places. Taking 
them in order, we find the word cds to occur again in Ps. cii. 6 : 
" I am like a pelican of the wilderness : I am like an owl of the 
desert." The Psal.n. in which this passage occurs is a penitential 
prayer, in which the writer uses many of the metaphors em- 
ployed by Job when lamenting his afflictions, and describes 
himself as left alone among men. 

The simile is equally just and feasible in this case, the Owl 
being essentially a bird of night, and associated with solitude 
and gloom. The particular species which is signified by the 
word cds bears but very slightly on the subject, inasmuch as 
in general habits all the true Owls are very similar in hiding by 
day in their nests, and coming out at night to hunt for prey 
their melancholy hoot, or startling shriek, breaking the silence 
of the night. 

Still it is necessary to identify, if we can, some species with 
the word cds, and it is very likely that the Tittle Owl, or 
Boomah of the Arabs (Athene Per sigo) , is the bird which is sig- 
nified by the word cds. This species is probably identical with 
the Little Night Owl of England (Athene noctua). Though rare 
in England, it is very common in many parts of the Continent 
where it is much valued by bird-catchers, who employ it as a 
means of attracting small birds to their traps. They place it on 
the top of a long pole, and carry it into the fields, where they 
plant the pole in the ground. This Owl has a curious habit of 
swaying its body backwards and forwards, and is sure to attract 
the notice of all the small birds in the neighbourhood. It is 
well known that the smaller birds have a peculiar hatred to the 
Owl, and never can pass it without mobbing it, assembling in 
great numbers, and so intent on their occupation that they seem 
to be incapable of perceiving anything but the object of their 
hatred. Even rooks, magpies, and hawks are taken by this 
simple device. 



372 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Whether or not the Little Owl was used for this object by the 
ancient inhabitants of Palestine is rather doubtful ; but as they 
certainly did so employ decoy birds for the purpose of attracting 
game, it is not unlikely that the Little Owl was found to serve 




THB LITTLE OWL. 

"I am like an owl of the desert." — Ps. cil 6. 



as a decoy. We shall learn more about the system of decoy- 
birds when we come to the partridge. 

The Little Owl is to be found in almost every locality, caring 
little whether it takes up its residence in cultivated grounds, in 
villages, among deserted ruins, or in places where man has 
never lived. As, however, it is protected by the natives, it 
prefers the neighbourhood of villages, and may be seen quietly 
percLsd in some favourite spot, not taking the trouble to move 
unless it be approached closely. And to detect a perched Owl 
is not at aU an easy matter, as the bird has a way of selecting 



THE OWL. 373 

some spot where the colours of its plumage harmonize so well 
with the surrounding objects that the large eyes are often the 
first indication of its presence. Many a time I have gone to 
search after Owls, and only been made aware of them by the 
sharp angry snap that they make when startled. 

The name Atitene, by the way, has been given to this Owl 
because it is the species selected by the Greeks as the emblem 
of wisdom. 

The common Barn Owl of England (Strix flammea) also 
inhabits Palestine, and if, as is likely to be the case, the word 
cos is a collective term under which several species are grouped 
together, the Barn or White Owl is likely to be one of them. 

Like the Little Owl, it affects the neighbourhood of man., 
though it may be found in ruins and similar localities. An old 
ruined castle is sure to be tenanted by the Barn Owl, whose 
nightly shrieks have so often terrified the belated wanderer, and 
made him fancy that the place was haunted by disturbed spirits. 
Such being the case in England, it is likely that in the East, 
where popular superstition has peopled every well with its jinn 
and every ruin with its spirit, the nocturnal cry of this bird, 
which is often called the Screech Owl from its note, should be 
exceedingly terrifying, and would impress itself on the minds of 
sacred writers as a fit image of solitude, terror, and desolation. 

The Screech Owl is scarcely less plentiful in Palestine than 
the Little Owl, and, whether or not it be mentioned under a 
separate name, is sure to be one of the birds to which allusion is 
made in the Scriptures. 

Another name now rises before us : this is the Yanshuph, 
translated as the Great Owl, a word which occurs not only in 
the prohibitory passages of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but in 
the Book of Isaiah. In that book, ch. xxxiv. ver. 10, 11, we find 
the following passage : " From generation to generation it shall 
lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 

" But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it ; the owl 
(yansh'tiph) also and the raven shall dwell in it : and He shall 
stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of 
emptiness." The Jewish Bible follows the same reading. 

It is most probable that the Great Owl or Yanshuph is the 
Egyptian Eagle Owl (Bubo ascaJaphus), a bird which is closely 



374 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

allied to the great Eagle Owl of Europe (Bubo maximus), and 
the Virginian Eared Owl {Bubo Virginianus) of America. This 
fine bird measures some two feet in length, and looks much 
larger than its real size, owing to the thick coating of feathers 
which it wears in common with all true Owls, and the ear-like 
feather tufts on the top of its head, which it can raise or depress 
at pleasure. Its plumage is light tawny. 

This bird has a special predilection for deserted places and 
ruins, and may at the present time be seen on the very spots of 
which the prophet spoke in his prediction. It is very plentiful 
in Egypt, where the vast ruins are the only relics of a creed 
long passed away or modified into other forms of religion, and 
its presence only intensifies rather than diminishes the feeling 
of loneliness that oppresses the traveller as he passes among the 
ruins. 

The European Eagle Owl has all the habits of its Asiatic 
congener. It dwells in places far from the neighbourhood of 
man, and during the day is hidden in some deep and dark recess, 
its enormous eyes not being able to endure the light of day. In 
the evening it issues from its retreat, and begins its search after 
prey, which consists of various birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, fish, 
and even insects when it can find nothing better. 

On account of its comparatively large dimensions, it is a,ble 
to overcome even the full-grown hare and rabbit, while the lamb 
and the young fawn occasionally fall victims to its voracity. 
It seems never to chase any creature on the wing, but floats 
silently through the air, its soft and downy plumage deadening 
the sound of its progress, and suddenly drops on the unsuspect- 
ing prey while it is on the ground. 

The nest of this Owl is made in the crevices of rocks, or in 
ruins, and is a very large one, composed of sticks and twigs, 
lined with a tolerably large heap of dried herbage, the parent 
Owls returning to the same spot year after year. Should it not 
be able to find either a rock or a ruin, it contents itself with a 
hollow in the ground, and there lays its eggs, which are generally 
two in number, though occasionally a third egg is found. The 
Egyptian Eagle Owl does much the same thing, burrowing in 
sand-banks, and retreating, if it fears danger, into the hollow 
where its nest has been made. 

In the large illustration the two last-mentioned species are 



THE OWL. 375 

given. The Egyptian Eagle Owl is seen with its back towards 
the spectator, grasping in its talons a dead hare, and with ear- 
tufts erect is looking towards the Barn Owl, which is contem- 
plating in mingled anger and fear the proceedings of the larger 
bird. Near them is perched a raven, in order to carry out more 
fully the prophetic words, "the owl also and the raven shall 
dwell in it." 

Two more passages yet remain in which the word Owl is 
mentioned, and, curiously enough, both of them are found in the 
Book of Isaiah, the poet-prophet, who seized with a poet's 
intuition on the natural objects around him, and converted the 
simplest and most familiar incidents into glowing imagery and 
powerful metaphor. 

If the reader will refer to Tsaiah xxxiv. 13-15, he will find the 
following passages, which are, in fact, a continuation of the pro- 
phecy against Idumea, which has already been quoted. " And 
thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the 
fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and 
a court for owls. 

" The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild 
beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow ; the 
screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place 
of rest. 

" There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, 
and gather under her shadow." 

It has been already mentioned that the word which is trans- 
lated as Owl, in the first of these passages, is bath-hay a' anah, 
which is generally considered to signify the ostrich. In verse 14 
we come to a new word, namely, lilith. In the marginal reading 
of the Authorized Version, this word is rendered as "night 
monster," and the Jewish Bible takes nearly the same view of the 
word by translating it as "a nocturnal one," evidently basing 
this interpretation upon the derivation of the word. Several 
Hebraists have thought that the word lilith merely represents 
some mythological being, like the dread Lamia of the ancients, a 
mixture of the material and spiritual— too ethereal to be seen 
by daylight, and too gross to be above the requirements of human 
food. The blood of mankind was the food of these fearful 
beings, and, according to old ideas, they could only live among 



376 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

ruins and desert places, where they concealed themselves during 
the day at the bottoms of wells or the recesses of rock-caverns, 
and stole out at night to seize on some unlucky wanderer, and 
suck his blood as he slept. 

The reader may remember that even our very imperfect ver- 
sion of the " Arabian Nights" repeatedly alludes to this belief, 
the evil spirit being almost invariably represented as dwelling in 
ruins, rocky places, and the interiors of wells. 

Although it is very possible that the prophet may have 
referred to some of the mythological beings which were so 
universally supposed to inhabit deserted spots, and thus to have 
employed the word lilith as a term which he did not intend to 
be taken otherwise than metaphorically, it is equally possible 
that some nocturnal bird may have been meant, and in that case 
the bird in question must almost certainly have been an Owl 
of some kind. As to the particular species of Owl, that is a 
question which cannot be satisfactorily answered, especially as 
so many scholars find reason to doubt whether the word lilith 
represents an Owl, or indeed any ordinary inhabitant of earth. 
As, therefore, we have no data whereon to found a positive 
opinion, the question will be allowed to remain an open one. 

The last word which is translated as Owl is kippoz, and 
occurs in ch. xxxiv. 15: "There shall the great owl make her 
nest." 

Many Hebraists think that in this case the word kippoz is a 
mere clerical error for kippod, or hedgehog, and have translated 
the passage accordingly. The Septuagint and the Vulgate follow 
this reading ; Buxtorf, in his Hebrew Lexicon, translates kippoz 
as Thrush, deriving the name from the dipping character of its 
flight. The Jewish Bible, following several other authorities, 
renders the word as " arrow-snake," while several scholars 
translate it as " darting serpent." This interpretation, however, 
is scarcely tenable, as the description of the Kippoz as making 
its nest, laying its eggs, and gathering them under its shadow, 
clearly points to a bird, and not a reptile. It is very true that 
the boa or python snake has been seen to coil itself round a 
heap of its eggs, but the sacred writer could hardly have had 
many opportunities of seeing such an act, while the custom of a 
bird gathering her young under the shadow of her wings must 
have been perfectly familiar to him. There is, moreover, the 



- 




THE NIGHT-HAWK. 37? 

fact that the context speaks of the vultures, so that a bird of 
some kind was evidently in the mind of the writer. Mr Tristram 
suggests that the Kippoz might be intended for the Scops Owl, 
called Marouf by the Arabs, and which is very common about 
ruins, caves, and the old walls of towns. Its note is well repre- 
sented by the word kippoz. 

" It is a migrant, returning to Palestine in spring. It is the 
smallest owl in the country, being little more than seven inches 
in length, with long ear-tufts, and its whole plumage most 
delicately mottled and speckled with grey and light brown." 

This species is very plentiful on the continent of Europe, 
though it is rare in the British Isles. It feeds, as might be 
presumed from its diminutive size, on mice, small reptiles, and 
insects. Its scientific name, according to the nomenclature of 
the British Museum, is Ephialtes Scops. 



THE NIGHT-HAWK. 

Different interpretations of the word Tachmas — Probability that it signifies the 
Nightjar — Various names of the bird — Its remarkable jarring cry, and wheel- 
ing Might — Mode of feeding — Boldness of the bird — Deceptive appearance of 
its size. 

We next come to the vexed question of the word Tachmas, 
which is rendered in the Authorized Version as Night-hawk. 

This word only occurs among the list of prohibited birds (see 
Lev. xi. 16, and Deut. xiv. 15), and has caused great con- 
troversies among commentators. Some Hebraists have thought 
that the male ostrich was signified by tachmas, the word bath- 
hay a' anah being supposed by them to signify the female ostrich. 
It is hardly probable, however, that the sacred writer should 
have mentioned separately the sexes of the same species, and 
we must therefore look for some other interpretation. 

Going to the opposite extreme of size, some scholars have 
translated tachmas as Swallow. This again is not a very pro- 
bable rendering, as the swallow would be too small a bird to be 
specially named in the prohibitory list. The balance of pro- 



378 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



bability seems to lie between two interpretations, — namely, that 
which considers the word tachmds to signify the Night-hawk, 
and that which translates it as Owl. For both of these inter- 
pretations much is to be said, and it cannot be denied that of 
the two the latter is perhaps the preterable. If so, the White 
or Barn Owl is probably the particular species to which refer- 
ence is made. 

Still, many commentators think that the Night-hawk or 
Nightjar is the bird which is signified by the word tachmds; 




THE NIGHT-HAWK. 

" The owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo." — Deut. xiv. 15. 



and, as we have already treated of the owls, we will accept the 
rendering of the Authorized Version. Moreover, the Jewish 
Bible follows the same translation, and renders tachmds as 
Night-hawk, but affixes the mark of doubt. 

It is not unlikely that the Jews may have reckoned this bird 
among the owls, just as is the case with the uneducated among 
ourselves, who popularly speak of the Nightjar as the Fern Owl, 
Churn Owl, or Jar OwL the two last names being given to 



THE NIGHT-HAWK. 37& 

it on account of its peculiar cry. There are few birds, indeed, 
which have received a greater variety of popular names, for, 
besides the Goatsucker and the five which have already been 
mentioned, there are the Wheel-bird and Dor-hawk, the former 
of these names having been given to the bird on account of its 
wheeling round the trees while seeking for prey, and the latter 
on account of the dor-beetles on which it largely feeds. 

This curious variety of names is probably due to the very 
conspicuous character of the Nightjar, its strange, jarring, weird- 
like cry forcing itself on the ear of the least attentive, as it 
breaks the silence of night. It hardly seems like the cry of 
a bird, but rather resembles the sound of a pallet falling on 
the cogs of a rapidly-working wheel. It begins in the dusk of 
evening, the long, jarring note being rolled out almost inter- 
minably, until the hearer wonders how the bird can have breath 
enough for such a prolonged sound. The hearer may hold his 
breath as long as he can, take a full inspiration, hold his breath 
afresh, and repeat this process over and over again, and yet the 
Nightjar continues to trill out its rapid notes without a moment's 
cessation for breath, the sound now rising shrill and clear, and 
now sinking as if the bird were far off, but never ceasing for an 
instant. 

This remarkable cry has caused the uneducated rustics to 
look upon the bird with superstitious dread, every one knowing 
its cry full well, though to many the bird is unknown except 
by its voice. It is probable that, in the days when Moses wrote 
the Law, so conspicuous a bird was well known to the Jews, 
and we may therefore conjecture that it was one of those birds 
which he would specially mention by name. 

The general habits of the Nightjar are quite as remarkable as 
its note. It feeds on the wing, chasing and capturing the various 
moths, beetles, and other insects that fly abroad by night. It 
may be seen wheeling round the branches of some tree, the oak 
being a special favourite, sometimes circling round it, and some- 
times rising high in the air, and the next moment skimming 
along the ground. Suddenly it will disappear, and next moment 
its long trilling cry is heard from among the branches of the 
tree round which it has been flying. To see it while singing is 
almost impossible, for it has a habit of sitting longitudinally on 
the branch, and not across it, like most birds, so that the outline 



380 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of its body cannot be distinguished from that of the bough on 
which it is seated. As suddenly as it began, the sound ceases, 
and simultaneously the bird may be seen wheeling again through 
the air with its noiseless flight. 

Being a very bold bird, and not much afraid of man, it allows 
a careful observer to watch its movements clearly. I have often 
stood close to the tree round which several Nightjars were 
circling, and seen them chase their prey to the ground within a 
yard or two of the spot on which I was standing. Tiie flight of 
the Nightjar is singularly graceful. Swift as the swallow itself, 
it presents a command of wing that is really wonderful, gliding 
through the air with consummate ease, wheeling and doubling 
in pursuit of some active moth, whose white wings glitter 
against the dark background, while the sober plumage of its 
pursuer is scarcely visible, passing often within a few feet of the 
spectator, and yet not a sound or a rustle will reach his ears. 
Sometimes the bird is said to strike its wings together over its 
back, so as to produce a sharp snapping sound, intended to 
express anger at the presence of the intruder. I never, how- 
ever, heard this sound, though I have watched the bird so 
often. 

Owing to the soft plumage with which it is clad, this bird, 
like the owls, looks larger than really is the case. It is between 
ten and eleven inches in length, with an expanse of wing of 
twenty inches, and yet weighs rather less than three ounces. 
Its large mouth, like that of the swallow tribe, opens as far as 
the eyes, and is furnished with a set of vibrissa or bristles, which 
remind the observer of the " whale-bone " which is set on the 
jaw of the Greenland whale. The scientific name of the bird is 
Caprimulgus Europceus. 



THE SWALLOW. 381 



THE SWALLOW. 

Identification of the smaller birds — Oriental indifference to natural history — Use 
of collective terms -The Swallow— Signification of the word Deror— The Bird 
of Liberty— Swallows and Swifts — The Sunbirds and Bee-eaters — Variety of 
small birds found in Palestine — The Swallows of Palestine- Swallows pro- 
tected by man in vai-ious countries — Nesting of the Swallow — The Rufous 
Swallow and Martin — The Sis or Swift — Various species of Swift inhabiting 
the Holy Land — Talmudical notions of the Swift or Swallow— The leper 
and his offering— The cooking pot and the sacrificial vessel — Signification 
of the word Tzippor-deror. 

Difficult as is the identification of the mammalia mentioned 
in the Bible, that of the birds is much more intricate. 

Some of the larger birds can be identified with tolerable cer- 
tainty, but when we come to the smaller and less conspicuous 
species, we are at once lost in uncertainty, and at the best can 
only offer conjectures The fact is, the Jews of old had no 
idea of discriminating between the smaller birds, unless they 
happened to be tolerably conspicuous by plumage or by voice. 
We need not be much surprised at this. The Orientals of 
the present day do precisely the same thing, and not only 
fail to discriminate between the smaller birds, but absolutely 
have no names for them. 

By them, the shrikes, the swallows, the starlings, the thrushes, 
the larks, the warblers, and all the smaller birds, are called by 
a common title, derived from the twittering sound of their 
voices, only one or two of them having any distinctive titles. 
They look upon the birds much as persons ignorant of ento- 
mology look at a collection of moths. There is not much 
difficulty in discriminating between the great hawk- moths, and 
perhaps in giving a name to one or two of them which are 
specially noticeable for any peculiarity of form or colour ; 
but when they come to the "Kustics," the "Carpets," the 
"Wainscots," and similar groups, they are utterly lost; and, 
though they may be able to see the characteristic marks when 



382 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the moths are placed side by side, they are incapable of distin 
guishing them separately, and, to their uneducated eyes, twenty 
or thirty species appear absolutely alike. 

I believe that there is no country where a knowledge of prac- 
tical natural history is so widely extended as in England, and 
yet how few educated persons are there who, if taken along a 
country lane, can name the commonest weed or insect, or dis- 
tinguish between a sparrow, a linnet, a hedge-sparrow, and a 
chaffinch. Nay, how many are there who, if challenged even to 
repeat the names of twelve little birds, would be unable to do so 
without some consideration, much less to know them if the birds 
were placed before them. 

Such being the case in this country, where the capability of 
observation is more or less cultivated in every educated person, 
we may well expect that a profound ignorance on the subject 
should exist in countries where that faculty is absolutely 
neglected as a matter of education. Moreover, in England we 
have a comparatively limited list of birds, whereas in Palestine 
are found nearly all those which are reckoned among British 
birds, and many other species besides. Those which reside in 
England reside also for the most part in Palestine, while the 
greater part of the migratory birds pass, as we might expect, 
into the Holy Land and the neighbouring countries. 

If then we put together the two facts of an unobservant 
people and a vastly extended fauna, we shall not wonder that 
so many collective terms are used in the Scriptures, one word 
often doing duty for twenty or thirty species. The only plan, 
therefore, which can be adopted, is to mention generally the 
birds which were probably grouped under one name, and to 
describe briefly one or two of the most prominent. 

It is, however, rather remarkable that the song of birds does 
not appear to be noticed by the sacred writers. We might 
expect that several of the prophets, especially Isaiah, the great 
sacred poet, who drew so many of his images from natural 
objects, would have found in the song of birds some metaphor 
expressive of sweetness or joy. We might expect that in the 
Book of Job, in which so many creatures are mentioned, the 
singing of birds would be brought as prominently forward as 
the neck clothed with thunder of the horse, the tameless free- 
dom of the wild ass, the voracity of the vulture, and the swift- 



THE SWALLOW. 383 

ness of the ostrich. We -night expect the song of birds to be 
mentioned by Amos, the herdman of Tekoa, who introduces 
into his rugged poem the roar of the old lion and the wail of 
the cub, the venom of the serpent hidden in the wattled wall of 
the herdman's hut, and the ravages of the palmer-worm among 
the olives. Above all, we might expect that in the Psalms there 
would be many allusions to the notes of the various birds which 
have formed such fruitful themes for the poets of later times. 
There are, however, in the whole of the Scriptures but two 
passages in which the song of birds is mentioned, and even in 
these only a passing allusion is made. 

One of them occurs in Psalm civ. 12: "By them {i.e. the 
springs of water) shall the fowls of the heaven have their habi- 
tation, which sing among the branches." This passage is perhaps 
rendered more closely in the Jewish Bible : " Over them dwell 
the fowls of the heaven ; they let their voices resound (or give 
their voice) from between the foliage." 

The other occurs in Eccles. xii. 4 : " And the doors shall be 
shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and 
he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters 
of music shall be brought low." The word which is here trans- 
lated as " bird," is that which is rendered in some places as 
" sparrow," in others as " fowl," and in others as " bird." Even 
in these passages, as the reader will have noticed, no marks of 
appreciation are employed, and we hear nothing of the swet tness, 
joyousness, or mournfulness of the bird's song. 

We will now proceed to the words which have been translated 
as Swallow in the Authorized Version. 

These are two in number, namely, derSr and agar. Hebraists 
are, however, agreed that the latter word has been wrongly 
applied, the translators having interchanged the signification of 
two contiguous words. 

We will therefore first take the word deror. This word 
signifies liberty, and is well applied to the Swallow, the bird of 
freedom. It is remarkable, by the way, how some of the old 
commentators have contrived to perplex themselves about a very 
simple matter. One of them comments upon the bird as being 
" so called, because it has the liberty of building in the houses 
of mankind." Another takes a somewhat similar view of the 



384 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

case, but puts it in a catechetical form : " Why is the swallow 
called the bird of liberty ? Because it lives both in the house 
and in the field." It is scarcely necessary to point out to the 
reader that the " liberty " to which allusion is made is the 
liberty of flight, the bird coming and going at its appointed 
times, and not being capable of domestication. 

Several kinds of Swallow are known in Palestine, including 
the true Swallows, the martins, and the swifts, and, as we shall 
presently see, it is likely that one of these groups was distin- 
guished by a separate name. Whether or not the word deror 
included other birds beside the Swallows is rather doubtful, 
though not at all unlikely ; and if so, it is probable that any 
swift-winged insectivorous bird would be called by the name of 
Deror, irrespective of its size or colour. 

The bee-eaters, for example, are probably among the number 
of the birds grouped together under the word deror, and we 
may conjecture that the same is the case with the sunbirds, 
those bright-plumed little beings that take in the Old World the 
place occupied by the humming-birds in the New, and often 
mistaken for them by travellers who are not acquainted with 
ornithology. One of these birds, the Nectarinia Osece, is de- 
scribed by Mr. Tristram as " a tiny little creature of gorgeous 
plumage, rivalling the humming-birds of America in the metallic 
lustre of its feathers — green and purple, with brilliant red and 
oranf ,e plumes under its shoulders." 

In order to account for the singular variety of animal life 
which is to be found in Palestine, and especially the exceeding 
diversity of species among the birds, we must remember that 
Palestine is a sort of microcosm in itself, comprising within its 
narrow boundaries the most opposite conditions of temperature, 
climate, and soil. Some parts are rocky, barren, and moun- 
tainous, chilly and cold at the top, and acting as channels 
through which the winds blow almost continuously. The cliffs 
are full of holes, rifts, and caverns, some natural, some artificial, 
and some of a mixed kind, the original caverns having been 
enlarged and improved by the hand of man. 

As a contrast to this rough and ragged region, there lie close 
at hand large fertile plains, affording pasturage for unnumbered 
cattle, and of a tolerably equable temperature, so that the 
animals which are pastured in it can find food throughout 






THE SWALLOW. 



385 



the year. Through the centre of Palestine runs the Jordan, fer- 
tilizing its banks with perpetual verdure, and ending its course 
in the sulphurous and bituminous waters of the Dead Sea, 
under whose waves the ruins of the wicked cities are supposed 
to lie. Westward we have the shore of the Mediterranean with 




THE RUFOUS SWALLOW AND GALILEAN SWIFT. 

The turtle, and the crane, and the swallow observe the time of their co7rving."—JER. viii. 7. 



its tideless waves of the salt sea, and on the eastward of the 
mountain range that runs nearly parallel to the sea is the great 
Lake of Tiberias, so large as to have earned the name of the Sea 
of Galilee. 

Under these favourable conditions, therefore, the number of 
species which are found in Palestine is perhaps greater than can 
be seen in any other part of the earth of the same dimensions, 



386 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

and it seems probable that for this reason, among many others, 
Palestine was selected to be the Holy Land. If, for example, 
the Christian Church had been originated under the tropics, 
those who lived in a cold climate could scarcely have understood 
the language in which the Scriptures must necessarily have been 
couched. Had it, on the contrary, taken its rise in the Arctic 
regions, the inhabitants of the tropics and temperate regions 
could not have comprehended the imagery in which the teachings 
of Scripture must have been conveyed. But the small and 
geographically insignificant Land of Palestine combines in itself 
many of the characteristics which belong respectively to the 
cold, the temperate, and the hot regions of the world, so that the 
terms in which the sacred writings are couched are intelligible 
to a very great proportion of the world's inhabitants. 

This being the case, we naturally expect to find that several 
species of the Swallow are inhabitants of Palestine, if indeed so 
migratory a bird can be rightly said to be an inhabitant of any 
one country. 

The chief characteristic of the Swallow, the " bird of free- 
dom," is that it cannot endure captivity, but is forced by instinct 
to pass from one country to another for the purpose of preserving 
itself in a tolerably equable temperature, moving northwards 
as the spring ripens into summer, and southwards as autumn 
begins to sink into winter. By some marvellous instinct it 
traces its way over vast distances, passing over hundreds of 
miles where nothing but the sea is beneath it, and yet at the 
appointed season returning with unerring certainty to the spot 
where it was hatched. How it is guided no one knows, but the 
fact is certain, that Swallows, remarkable for some peculiarity 
by which they could be at once identified, have been observed 
to leave the country on their migration, and to return in the 
following year to the identical nest whence they started. 

The habits of the Swallow are much the same in Palestine as 
they are in England. Its habit of making its nest among the 
habitations of mankind is mentioned in a well-known passage 
of the Psalms : " The sparrow hath found an house, and the 
swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even 
Thine altars, Lord of Hosts, my King and my God " (Ps. 
Ixxxiv. 3). The Swallow seems in all countries to have enjoyed 
the protection of man, and to have been suffered to build in 



THE SWALLOW. 387 

peace under his roof. We find the same idea prevalent in the 
New World as well as the Old, and it is rather curious that the 
presence of th* bird should so generally be thought to bring luck 
to a house. 

In some parts of our country, a farmer would not dare to kill 
a Swallow or break down its nest, simply because he thinks 
that if he did so his cows would fail to give their due supply 
of milk. The connexion between the milking of a cow in the 
field and the destruction of a Swallow's nest in the house is not 
very easy to see, but nevertheless such is the belief. This idea 
ranks with that which asserts the robin and the wren to be the 
male and female of the same species, and to be under some 
special divine protection. 

Whatever may be the origin of this superstition, whether it 
be derived from some forgotten source, or whether it be the 
natural result of the confiding nature of the bird, the Swallow 
enjoys at the present day the protection of man, and builds freely 
in his houses, and even his places of worship. The heathen 
temples, the Mahometan mosques, and the Christian churches 
are alike inhabited by the Swallow, who seems to know hei 
security, and often places her nest where a child might reach it. 

The bird does not, however, restrict itself to the habitations 
of man, though it prefers them ; and in those places where no 
houses are to be found, and yet where insects are plentiful, it 
takes possession of the clefts* of rocks, and therein makes its 
nest. Many instances are known where the Swallow has chosen 
the most extraordinary places for its nest. It has been known 
to build year after year on the frame of a picture, between the 
handles of a pair of shears hung on the wall, on a lamp-bracket, 
in a table-drawer, on a door-knocker, and similar strange 
localities. 

The swiftness of flight for which this bird is remarkable is 
noticed by the sacred writers. " As the bird by wandering, as 
the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come" 
(Prov. xxvi. 2). This passage is given rather differently in the 
Jewish Bible, though the general sense remains the same : 
" As the bird is ready to flee, as the swallow to fly away ; so a 
causeless execration, it shall not come." It is possible, however, 
that this passage may allude rather to the migration than the 
swiftness of the bird. 



388 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Several species of Swallow inhabit the Holy Land. There is, 
for example, our common Swallow, which is one of the migratory 
species, while another, the Oriental Swallow (Hirundo cahirica), 
often remains in the warmer parts of the country throughout the 
year. This bird may be distinguished by the chestnut hue of 
the under parts. 

Perhaps the most characteristic species is the Rufous or 
Russet Swallow (Hirundo rufuld), a bird which is exceed- 
ingly rare even in the warmer parts of Europe, but is plentiful 
in Palestine. It may be easily known by the chestnut red of 
the back just above the tail, in the spot where the white patch 
occurs in our house martin. The under parts are differently 
coloured from those of the common Swallow, being pink instead 
of white. 

Several Martins inhabit Palestine, among which are the two 
species with which we are so familiar in England, namely, the 
House Martin (Chehdon urbica) and the Sand Martin {Cotyle 
riparia). At least two other species of Martin are known to 
inhabit the Holy Land, but they do not call for any special notice. 

Besides the word deror, which is acknowledged to signify 
the Swallow, there is another word which, by a curious trans- 
position, has been translated as " crane," whereas there is little 
doubt that it signifies one of the Swallow tribe, and most pro- 
bably represents the Swift. The word is sis, and occurs in 
two passages. The first occurs in Isa. xxxviii. 13, 14, in the well- 
known prayer of Hezekiah during his sickness : " From day 
even to night w 7 ilt thou make an end of me. Like a crane [sis], 
or a swallow, so did I chatter : I did mourn as a dove : mine 
eyes fail with looking upward." The Jewish Bible reads the 
words, " Like a chattering swallow," affixing the mark of doubt ; 
while the Septuagint translates the word sis as " Chelidon," or 
Swallow, and this is probably the correct rendering of the word. 

Accepting this as the true interpretation, we find that the 
word sis is very expressive of the perpetual chattering of the 
Swift, whose sharp, shrill cries often betray its presence while 
it is sailing in the air almost beyond the ken of human eyes. 
There is a wailing, melancholy sound about the bird's cry w r hich 
makes Hezekiah's image exceedingly appropriate, and he could 
hardly have selected a more forcible metaphor. 



THE SWIFT. 389 

The second passage occurs in Jer. viii. 7 : " Yea, the stork in 
the heaven knoweth her appointed times ; and the turtle, and 
the crone [sis], and the swallow observe the time of their 
coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord." 
With regard to this passage, the Jewish Bible renders the word 
sis as Swallow, though with the mark of doubt. 

Allusion is here made to the migratory habits of the Swift 
There is, perhaps, no bird more conspicuous in this respect ; for 
whereas the other migratory birds seem to straggle, as it were, 
into the country, the Swifts arrive almost simultaneously, so 
that on one day not a Swift will be seen, and on the next the air 
is full of their dark, glancing forms. 

Like the Swallow, the Swift haunts the neighbourhood of 
man, and loves to build its simple nest in the roofs of houses. 
Almost any hole will do for a Swift to build in, provided that it 
be tolerably deep ; for the bird loves darkness for its nest, though 
it is essentially in its habits a bird of light. 

Perhaps the word " build " is scarcely the right one, inasmuch 
as the nest is even more simple than that of the sand-martin. 
This latter bird does indeed arrange with some regularity the 
feathers which compose its nest, as may be seen by a beautiful 
specimen obtained by Mr. Gould; whereas the Swift merely 
places together a quantity of hay, straw, hair, feathers, and 
similar materials, all of which are probably obtained from the 
ruins of a sparrow's nest which had occupied the hole before 
the Swift took possession of it. 

Several species of Swift inhabit Palestine. The common Swift 
(Cypselv* apus), with which we are so familiar, is very plentiful, 
and so is the Alpine Swift (Cypselus melba), a bird which is 
rare in England, though it occasionally visits our shores. It is 
much larger than the common Swift, and is brown above and 
white below, instead of being dusky black, like the common 
species. 

The most characteristic species is, however, the Galileajn 
Swift (Cypselus affinis). Of this kind, Mr. Tristram remarks 
that it is " very like the house-martin in general appearance 
and size. It resides all the year in the Jordan valley, where 
alone it is found, living in large communities, and has a pleasing 
note, a gentle and melodious wail, very different from the harsh 
scream of the other swifts. Its nests are very peculiar, being 



390 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

composed generally of straw and feathers, agglutinated together 
by the bird's saliva, like those of the edible swallow of Eastern 
Asia. They are without any lining, attached to the under side 
of an overhanging rock. It also sometimes takes possession of 
the nest of the rufus swallow for its purposes. The Galilean 
swift has a wide range, being found in India and Abyssinia.'' 

It is possible that this may be the Sis mentioned by Hezekiah, 
its soft wailing cry being used as the metaphor to express his 
own complaining. 

As might be expected, the Talmudical writers have much to 
say on this bird. 

For example, the offering which a leper made at the cleansing 
of his infirmity might be the Tzippor-deror, the rather quaint 
reason being that it was a bird with sharp scratching claws, and 
was therefore very appropriately offered in connexion with a 
disease of the skin. Here we have rather a complication of 
terms, the word tzippor being used, as we shall presently see, to 
signify the sparrow in particular, or any little bird in general. 
The particular species, therefore, which is signified by the com- 
bination of the two words tzippor-deror is rather obscure, and 
the Talmudists themselves are rather uncertain about it. The 
interpretation of this compound word seems, however, to have 
been a difficulty, and the various renderings which have been 
suggested seem at last to have varied between the wild pigeon, 
or rock- dove, and the Swallow. An account of the various 
arguments is given by Lewysohn in his " Zoologie des Talmuds," 
page 206, and may be briefly epitomized, as folio ws, in favour 
of the Swallow, or, as we shall soon see, the Swift. 

The reader may perhaps be acquainted with the legend re- 
specting the death of Titus, how a gnat made its way through 
his nostril into his brain, and there grew and kept him in 
constant torture until he died, when, according to some writers, 
it had reached the size of a Tzippor-deror, and weighed two 
selaim. Others enlarged upon this story, and said that it 
grew as large as a wild pigeon, and weighed two pounds. 
Now, as twenty-five selaim are equal to one pound, it follows 
that the Tzippor-deror must have been very much less than 
the wild pigeon, and that therefore the two birds could not have 
been identical. 



THE SWIFT. 391 

Another reason for believing the Tzippor-deror to be a much 
smaller bird than the pigeon is found in a curious rule respecting 
the eating of certain meats. The Jews were forbidden to eat 
date-siiells with the heathen, unless they were cooked in a vessel 
with an opening so small that a Tzippor-deror could not have 
been introduced into the pot. The reason of this curious proviso 
was, that if any unclean flesh, such as that of the swine, or of 
any animal which had been offered to idols, had been cooked in 
that vessel, even the date-shells would become unclean. But, if 
the mouth of the pot were too small for a Tzippor-deror to be 
passed through it, such a vessel could not have been used in 
cooking meat, and might therefore be assumed to be clean. 
Here, then, we have another proof of the small size of the 
bird. With regard to this argument, I find myself perplexed 
as to the " date- she! Is." Dates have no shells, and need no 
cooking, while the stones are too hard and woody to be rendered 
edible by any amount of cooking. Still, the word employed by 
Lewysohn is " dattelschalen." 

The leper's offering was not laid on the altar, but was sub- 
mitted to a peculiar manipulation on the part of the priest. 
Among other points of ritual, the blood had to be mixed with 
a certain quantity of water, which it barely discoloured, staining 
it of a very pale red. As the amount of water was the fourth 
part of a " log," and is defined to be equal to the contents of 
six hen's eggs, it was evident that the bird whose blood would 
only discolour so small a volume of w r ater must be a little one. 

After giving all these details, the learned writer sums up his 
arguments by saying that he believes the Tzippor-deror to be the 
White Swallow, which is small, and has claws so sharp that by 
means of them it can cling to the wall. Now this action is one 
of the characteristics of the Swifts, who often cling to walls for 
a time, and then resume their flight. They do so in preference 
to sitting on the ground after the fashion of the Swallow, because 
the great length of the wings causes the Swift to find some 
little difficulty in rising from a level surface. After weighing 
all the various arguments that have been urged on the subject, 
we may conclude that the Tzippor-deror was the White, or 
Alpine Swift, which has been already described on page 389. 



392 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE HOOPOE, OR LAPWING OF SCRIPTURE 

The "Dnkiphath" of Scripture — Various interpretations of the word — The 
Hoopoe — Its beauty and ill reputation — The unpleasant odour of its nest — 
Food of the Hoopoe — Its beautiful nest, and remarkable gestures — A curious 
legend of Solomon and the Hoopoe. 

In the two parallel chapters, Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv., there occurs 
the name of a bird which is translated in the Authorized Version, 
Lapwing : " And the stork, the heron after her kind, the lapwing, 
and the bat." 

The Hebrew word is dukiphath, and various interpretations 
have been proposed for it, some taking it to be the common 
domestic fowl, others the cock-of-the- woods, or capercailzie, 
while others have preferred to translate it as Hoopoe. The 
Jewish Bible retains the word lapwing, but adds the mark of 
doubt. Commentators are, however, agreed that of all these 
interpretations, that which renders the word as Hoopoe {Upupa 
epops) is the best. 

There would be no particular object in the prohibition of such 
a bird as the lapwing, or any of its kin, while there would be 
very good reasons for the same injunction with regard to the 
Hoopoe. 

In spite of the beauty of the bird, it has always had rather an 
ill reputation, and, whether in Europe or Asia, its presence 
seems to be regarded by the ignorant with a kind of super- 
stitious aversion. This universal distaste for the Hoopoe is 
probably occasioned by an exceedingly pungent and disagree- 
able odour which fills the nest of the bird, and which infects 
for a considerable time the hand which is employed to take 
the eggs. 

The nest is, moreover, well calculated for retaining any un- 
pleasant smell, being generally made in the hollow of a tree, and 
having therefore but little of that thorough ventilation which is 
found in nearly all nests which are built on boughs and sprays. 



THE HOOPOE. 



393 



The odour in question proceeds from a substance secreted from 
the tail-glands of the Hoopoe, and is not due, as was long 
supposed, to the food which was brought to the nest. 

There was good reason for supposing that this evil odour was 
caused by the food, inasmuch as the Hoopoe is in the habit of 
raking about in very unsavoury places in search of insects. But 




THE HOOPOE. 



it does not therefore follow that the insects which it finds are 
possessed of an evil smell. On the contrary, some of the worst- 
Bmelling insects— notably the lace-wing fly and many of the 
flower-haunting hemiptera— are invariably found upon the leaves 
of trees and the petals of flowers ; while others which, like many 
of the scarab beetles, haunt the most repulsive substances, are in 
themselves bright, and clean, and sweet. 



394 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The food of the Hoopoe consists almost entirely of insects. 
They have been said to feed on earth-worms ; but this notion 
seems to be a mistaken one, as in captivity they will not touch 
an earth-worm so long as they can procure an insect. Beetles of 
various kinds seem to be their favourite food, and when the 
beetles are tolerably large — say, for example, as large as the 
common cockchafer and dor-beetle — the bird beats them into a 
soft mass before it attempts to eat them. Smaller beetles are 
swallowed without any ceremony. The various boring insects 
which make their home in decaying wood are favourite articles 
of diet with the Hoopoe, which digs them out of the soft wood 
with its long curved beak. 

It has already been mentioned that the nest is usually made 
in the hollow of a tree. In many parts of the country however, 
hollow trees cannot be found, and in that case the Hoopoe resorts 
to clefts in the rock, or even to holes in old ruins. 

The bird is a peculiarly conspicuous one, not only on account 
of its boldly- barred plumage and its beautiful crest, but by its 
cry and its gestures. It has a way of elevating and depressing 
its crest, and bobbing its head up and down, in a manner which 
could not fail to attract the attention even of the most incurious, 
the whole aspect and expression of the bird varying with the 
raising and depressing of the crest. 

Eespecting this crest there is a curious old legend. As is the 
case with most of the Oriental legends, it introduces the name of 
King Solomon, who, according to Oriental notions, was a mighty 
wizard rather than a wise king, and by means of his seal, on 
which was engraven the mystic symbol of Divinity, held sway 
over the birds, the beasts, the elements, and even over the Jinns 
and Afreets, i.e. the good anil evil spirits, which are too ethereal 
for the material world and too gross for the spiritual, and there- 
fore hold the middle place between them. 

On one of his journeys across the desert, Solomon was perish- 
ing from the heat of the sun, when the Hoopoes came to his aid, 
and flew in a dense mass over his head, thus forming a shelter 
from the fiery sunbeams. Grateful for this assistance, the 
monarch told the Hoopoes to ask for a boon, and it should be 
granted to them. The birds, after consulting together, agreed to 
ask that from that time every Hoopoe should wear a crown 
of gold like Solomon himself. The request was immediately 



THE SPARROW. 395 

granted, and each Hoopoe found itself adorned wit\i a royal 
crown. At first, while their honours were new, great was the 
joy of the birds, who paused at every little puddle of water to 
contemplate themselves, bowing their heads over the watery 
mirror so as to display the crown to the best advantage. 

Soon, however, they found cause to repent of their ambition. 
The golden crown became heavy and wearisome to them, and, 
besides, the wealth bestowed on the birds rendered them the 
prey of every fowler. The unfortunate Hoopoes were per- 
secuted in all directions for the sake of their golden crowns, 
which they could neither take off nor conceal. 

At last, the few survivors presented themselves before Solo- 
mon, and begged him to rescind his fatal gift, which he did by 
substituting a crest of feathers for the crown of gold. The 
Hoopoe, however, never forgets its former grandeur, and is 
always bowing and bending itself as it used to do when con- 
templating its golden crown in the water. 



THE SPABROW. 

Signification of the word Tzippor — The bird used for the leper's sacrifice — The 
Sparrow upon the house-top — Architecture of the East — Proclamation from 
the house-tops — The Blue Thrush, its appearance and habits — Little birds 
exposed for sale in the market. — The two Sparrows sold for a farthing — Bird- 
catching — The net, the snare, and the trap — The Sparrow that builds her nest 
in the Temple — The Tree- Sparrow — Various Sparrows that inhabit Palestine — 
Birds kept in cages. 

We have already discussed the signification of the compound 
word tzippor-deror, and will now take the word tzippor alone. 

Like many other Hebrew terms, the word is evidently used in 
a collective sense, signifying any small bird that is not specially 
designated. In several portions of Scripture it is translated as 
Sparrow, and to that word we will at present restrict ourselves. 



39G BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Much difficulty has been found in identifying the bird which 
is signified by this word, the various allusions not agreeing with 
each other. For example, in the marginal reading in Lev. xiv. 4 
it is employed as a bird of sacrifice. When a leper had found 
that his disease had passed away, he was ordered to present 
himself before the priest, who would examine him, and decide 
whether the leprosy had really passed away or not. If he found 
that the man was right, a series of symbolic ceremonies had to 
be performed before the former leper could be restored to his 
place in the congregation. 

These ceremonies lasted for eight days, and the first of them 
was the sacrificing of the Sparrow. " Then shall the priest com- 
mand to take for him that shall be cleansed two birds [tzipporim 
or sparrows] alive and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and 
hyssop." One of these birds was to be sacrificed over running 
water, and the other to be set free, this sacrifice being analogous 
to that of the scape-goat. 

We see in this passage that the bird in question, whatever it 
might be, must be one of those birds which were considered as 
clean and fit for food. Indeed, the very use of the word " clean " 
shows that the leper was not restricted to any particular species. 
Had this been the case, there would have been no necessity for 
stipulating that the Tzipporim must belong to the list of clean 
birds — i.e. those which were permitted as food to the Israelites. 
Had any definite species been intended, there would have been 
no necessity for mentioning the word " clean " in connexion with 
the bird. 

In the remaining ceremonies no such word is needed. There 
is no stipulation that the lamb to be sacrificed should be clean, 
or, in case the leper should be a poor man, that the doves which 
he offers should be clean. That the lamb should be without 
blemish is especially mentioned, because it would not be right to 
offer a maimed or diseased auimal — he who presented himself 
before the Lord might not offer a sacrifice which cost him nothing, 
and therefore was no true sacrifice. But the lamb and the dove 
were known to be " clean " animals, so it was useless to use the 
word in connexion with them. If, therefore, the words " clean 
birds" [tzipporim) be mentioned, it is evident that the leper 
might select any of the Tzipporim, provided that it be one of 
the species that was acknowledged to be clean. 



THE SPARROW. 397 

Here, then, we have an example that the Sparrow might be a 
bird of sacrifice. We will now pass to Ps. cii. 5-7, in which 
we find that the word is used as an emblem of solitude and 
misery : " By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones 
cleave to my skin. 

" I am like a pelican of the wilderness : I am like an owl of 
the desert. 

" I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top." 

The word which is here translated as " Sparrow " is tzippor, 
the same which is rendered as " bird " in Lev. xiv. 4. The 
Hebrew Bible more consistently uses the collective term " bird " 
in both instances, and renders the passage as, " T watch, and am 
as a lonely bird upon a roof." 

Now, any one who knows the habits of the Sparrow is per- 
fectly aware that it is a peculiarly sociable bird. It is quarrel- 
some enough with its fellows, and always ready to fight for a 
stray grain or morsel of food ; but it is exceedingly gregarious, 
assembling together in little parties, enlivening the air with its 
merry though unmusical twitterings. 

This cosmopolitan bird is plentiful in the coast towns of 
Palestine, where it haunts the habitations of men with the same 
dauntless confidence which it displays in England. It is often 
seen upon roofs or house-tops, but is no more apt to sit alone in 
Palestine than it is in England. On the contrary, the Sparrows 
collect in great numbers on the house-tops, attracted by the 
abundant supply of food which it finds there. This requires 
some little explanation. 

The house-tops of the East, instead of being gabled and tiled as 
among ourselves, to allow the rain to run off, are quite flat, and 
serve as terraces or promenades in the evening, or even for 
sleeping-places ; and from the house-tops proclamations were 
made. See, for example, 1 Sam. ix. 25 : " And when they were 
come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed 
with Saul upon the top of the house " — this being the ordinary 
place which would be chosen for a conversation. In order to 
keep out the heat of the mid-day sun, tents were sometimes 
pitched upon these flat house-tops. (See 2 Sam. xvi. 22.) Ee- 
ference to the use of the house-tops as places for conversation 
are made in the New Testament. See, for example, Matt. x. 27 : 
" What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light ; and what 



398 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops." Another 
passage of a similar nature occurs in Luke xii. 3 : " Therefore 
whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the 
light, and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall 
be proclaimed on the house-tops." 

These roofs, instead of being built with sloping rafters like 
those to which we are accustomed in this country, are made 
with great beams of wood laid horizontally, and crossed by 
planks, poles, and brushwood packed tightly together. As this 
roof would not keep out the rain, it is covered with a thick layer 
of clay mixed with straw, and beaten down as hard as possible. 
This covering has constantly to be renewed, as, even in the best 
made roofs, the heavy rains are sure to wash away some portion 
of the clay covering, which has to be patched up with a fresh 
supply of earth. A stone roller is generally kept on the roof of 
each house for the purpose of making a flat and even surface. 

The earth which is used for this purpose is brought from the 
uncultivated ground, and is full of various seeds. As soon as the 
rains fall, these seeds spring up, and afford food to the Sparrows 
and other little birds, who assemble in thousands on the house- 
tops, and then peck away just as they do in our own streets and 
farm-yards. 

It is now evident that the " sparrow alone and melancholy 
upon the house-tops" cannot be the lively, gregarious Sparrow 
which assembles in such numbers on these favourite feeding- 
places. We must therefore look for some other bird, and 
naturalists are now agreed that we may accept the Blue Thrush 
(Petroco-ssyphus cyaneus) as the particular Tzippor, or small bird, 
which sits alone on the house-tops. The colour of this bird is 
a dark blue, whence it derives its popular name. Its habits 
exactly correspond with the idea of solitude and melancholy. 
The Blue Thrushes never assemble in flocks, and it is very rare 
to see more than a pair together. It is fond of sitting on the 
tops of houses, uttering its note, which, however agreeable to 
itself, is monotonous and melancholy to a human ear. 

In connexion with the passage already quoted, " What ye 
hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops," I will take 
the opportunity of explaining the passage itself, which scarcely 
seems relevant to the occasion unless we understand its bearings. 
The context shows that our Lord was speaking of the new doc- 



THE SPARROW. 



399 



trines which He had come to teach, and the duty of spreading 
fchem, and alludes to a mode of religious teaching which was 
then in vogue. 

The long captivity of the Jews in Babylon had caused the 
Hebrew language to be disused among the common people, who 
had learned the Chaldaic language from their captors. After 
their return to Palestine, the custom of publicly reading the 




THE BLUE THRUSH. OK 6P ARROW OF 8CRIPTURE. 

I am as a sparrow alone upon the housetops." — Ps. cii. 7. 



Scriptures was found to be positively useless, the generality of 
the people being ignorant of the Hebrew language. 

Accordingly, the following modification was adopted. The 
roll of the Scriptures was brought out as usual, and the sacred 
words read, or rather chanted. After each passage was read, a 
doctor of the law whispered its meaning into the ear of a Tar- 
gumista or interpreter, who repeated to the people in the Chal- 
daic language the explanation which the doctor had whispered 
in Hebrew. The reader will now see how appropriate is the 
metaphor, the whispering in the ear and subsequent proclama- 
tion being the customary mode of imparting religious instruction. 



400 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

If the reader will now turn to Matt. x. 29, he will find that 
the word " sparrow " is used in a passage which has become very 
familiar to us. " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and 
one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 

" But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 

" Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many 
sparrows." The same sentences are given by St. Luke (xii. 6), in 
almost the same words. 

Now the word which is translated as " Sparrow " is strouthion, 
a collective word, signifying a bird of any kind. Without the 
addition of some epithet, it was generally used to signify any 
kind of small bird, though it is occasionally employed to signify 
even so large a creature as an eagle, provided that the bird had 
been mentioned beforehand. Conjoined with the word "great," 
it signifies the ostrich ; and when used in connexion with a word 
significative of running, it is employed as a general term for all 
cursorial birds. 

In the passages above quoted it is used alone, and evidently 
signifies any kind of little bird, whether it be a sparrow or not. 
Allusion is made by our Lord to a custom, which has survived 
to the present day, of exposing for sale in the markets the bodies 
of little birds. They are stripped of their feathers, and spitted 
together in rows, just as are larks in this country, and always 
have a large sale. Various birds are sold in this manner, little 
if any distinction being made between them, save perhaps in 
respect of size, the larger species commanding a higher price 
than the small birds. In fact, they are arranged exactly after 
the manner in which the Orientals sell their " kabobs," i.e. little 
pieces of meat pierced by wooden skewers. 

It is evident that to supply such a market it is necessary that 
the birds should be of a tolerably gregarious nature, so that a 
considerable number can be caught at a time. Nets were 
employed for this purpose, and we may safely infer that the 
forms of the nets and the methods of using them were identical 
with those which are employed in the same country at the 
present day. 

It is rather curious that the mode of bird-catching which is 
familiar to us under the name of bat-fowling is employed in the 
East. The fowlers supply themselves with a large net supported 
on two sticks, and, taking a lantern with them fastened to the 



THE SPARROW. 401 

top of a pole, they sally out at night to the places where the 
small birds sleep. 

Raising the net on its sticks, they lift it to the requisite 
height, and hold the lantern exactly opposite to it, so as to place 
the net between the birds and the lantern, The roosting-places 
are then beaten with sticks or pelted with stones, so as to 
awaken the sleeping birds. Startled by the sudden noise, they 
dash from their roosts, instinctively make towards the light, and 
so fall into the net. Bird-catching with nets is several times 
mentioned in the Old Testament, but in the New the net is only 
alluded to as used for taking fish. 

Beside the net, several other modes of bird-catching w r ere used 
by the ancient Jews, just as is the case at the present day. 
Boys, for example, who catch birds for their own consumption, 
• and not for the market, can do so by means of various traps, 
most of which are made on the principle of the noose, or snare. 
Sometimes a great number of hair-nooses are set in places to 
which the birds are decoyed, so that in hopping about many of 
them are sure to become entangled in the snares. Sometimes 
the noose is ingeniously suspended in a narrow passage which 
the birds are likely to> traverse, and sometimes a simple fall- trap 
is employed. 

To these nooses many allusions are made in the Scriptures. 
See, for example, Ps. cxxiv. 7 : " Our soul is escaped as a bird 
(tzippor) out of the snare of the fowlers : the snare is broken, 
and we are escaped." Also Prov. vii. 23 : " He goeth after her 
straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter ... as a bird 
hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life." 
There is one passage in Ecclesiastes, where both the fishing-net 
and the snare are mentioned in connexion with each other : 
" For man knoweth not his time : as the fishes that are taken 
in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare ; so 
are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth 
suddenly upon them " (ix. 12). 

Allusion is also made to the snare by the prophet Amos in 
one of the passages where his rough, homely diction rises by 
successive steps into sublimity: " Can a bird fall in a snare upon 
the earth, where no gin is- for him? shall one take up a snare 
from the earth, and have taken nothing at all ? " (iii. 5.) 

So common was the use of the snare that it was frequently 
27 



402 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

used as a familiar image by the sacred writers. " How long 
shall this man be a snare to us ? " said Pharaoh's servants of 
Moses, through whom the waters of the sacred river had been 
polluted, and various other plagues had come upon the Egyptians. 
IdoU are called snares in many parts of the Scriptures, and so 
is the society of the wicked. A forcible use of this image was 
made by Saul when he found that his daughter Michal loved 
David : " And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a 
snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against 
him " (1 Sam. xviii. 21). His device, or snare, not only failed, 
but, as we learn in the succeeding chapter, verses 11 — 16, David 
was " delivered from the snare of the fowler," by the very means 
which had been employed for entrapping him. 

We now pass to another division of the subject. In Ps. lxxxiv. 
1-3, we come upon a passage in which the Sparrow is again 
mentioned : " How amiable are Thy tabernacles, Lord of hosts ! 

" My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the 
Lord ; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 

" Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a 
nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thine altars, 
Lord of hosts, my King, and my God." 

It is evident that we have in this passage a different bird 
from the Sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house-tops ; and 
though the same word, tzippor, is used in both cases, it is clear 
that whereas the former bird was mentioned as an emblem of 
sorrow, solitude, and sadness, the latter is brought forward as an 
image of joy and happiness. " Blessed are they," proceeds the 
Psalmist, " that dwell in Thy house : they will be still praising 
Thee. . . . For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I 
had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to 
dwell in the tents of wickedness." 

According to Mr. Tristram, this is probably one of the species 
to which allusion is made by the Psalmist. While inspecting 
the ruins in the neighbourhood of the Temple, he came upon an 
old wall. " Near this gate I climbed on to the top of the wall, 
and walked along for some time, enjoying the fine view at the 
gorge of the Kedron. with its harvest crop of little white tombs. 
In a chink I discovered a sparrow's nest (Passer cisalpinus, var.) 
of a species so closely allied to our own that it is difficult 



THE SPARROW. 



403 



to distinguish it, one of the very kind of which the Psalmist 
snng. . . . The swallows had departed for the winter, but the 
gparrow has remained pertinaciously through all the sieges and 
changes of Jerusalem." 

The same traveller thinks that the Tree Sparrow (Passer 
montanus) may be the species to which the sacred writer refers, 




THE TREE-SPARROW, OR SPARROW OF SCRIPTURE. 

" Yea, Out sparrow hath found an house, where she may lay her young." — Pb. lsndv. 3. 



as it is even now very plentiful about the neighbourhood of the 
Temple. In all probability we may accept both these birds as 
representatives of the Sparrow which found a home in the 
Temple. The swallow is separately mentioned, possibly because 
its migratory habits rendered it a peculiarly conspicuous bird ; 
but it is probable that many species of birds might make their 
nests in a place where they felt themselves secure from dis- 
turbance, and that all these birds would be mentioned under the 
collective and convenient term of Tzipporim. 

As we are engaged upon the word Sparrow, it may be men- 
tioned that several species of Sparrow inhabit Palestine. There 



404 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is, for example, the common House Sparrow, with which we are 
so familiar. Then, as has just been described, there is the Tree 
Sparrow — a bird which is very common in some parts of England, 
and never seen in others. 

Beside these, there is the Marsh Sparrow, or Spanish 
Spareow (Passer salicarius), which haunts the banks of the 
Jordan, and is found there in countless myriads. Mr. Tristram 
mentions that it builds so plentifully in the thorn-bushes of the 
Jordan valley, that he has seen the branches borne down by the 
weight of the nests. The same writer, in remarking upon the 
difficulty, not to say impossibility, of defining the precise bird 
which was signified by a Hebrew word, says that, exclusive of 
the crow tribe, the swifts, cuckoos, rollers, kingfishers, &c , 
nearly one hundred and fifty species of passerine birds are known 
to inhabit the Holy Land, any or all of which may be signified 
by the word tzippor. 

In curious contrast to the generally unobservant nature of the 
Oriental, and to the almost entire absence in Scripture of any 
allusion to the song of birds, we find that not only do the 
Orientals of the present day keep singing-birds in cages, but 
that the custom was in all probability prevalent during the days 
when the various Scriptural books were written. Any of my 
readers who are familiar — as they ought to be — with that store- 
house of Oriental manners, the " Arabian Nights," will remember 
several allusions to birds kept in cages, some for their song, 
some for their beauty of plumage, and some for their powers of 
talking. The same custom is continued at the present day ; and 
not only in Palestine, but in other Eastern countries, birds may 
be seen in cages hung outside the houses. 

In two passages of the Scriptures the word " cage " is men- 
tioned, but in one case the word evidently has another meaning, 
and in the other the signification is open to doubt. 

The first of these passages occurs in Jer. v. 27 : " For among 
my people are found wicked men : they lay wait, as he that 
setteth snares ; they set a trap, they catch men. 

" As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit." 

There is but little doubt that the word which is rendered here 
as "cage" really signifies a trap, probably one of the basket-traps 
which are still employed in the East in bird-catching. One 
marginal reading gives the word as " coop." The whole of the 






THE CUCKOO. 405 

context, however, shows that reference is made, not to keeping 
birds in cages, but to capturing them in traps, to which the 
houses of the wicked are compared. 

The second mention of the word " cage " occurs in the Bevela- 
lation, where the sacred writer compares Babylon with " a cage 
of every unclean bird." The word in this case signifies " prison,'' 
and we cannot definitely say that it represents a cage such as we 
understand by the word. There is, however, a passage in the Book 
of Job (xli. 5) which unmistakeably alludes to the custom of 
domesticating birds. Speaking of the leviathan and its strength, 
the sacred writer uses the following metaphor : — " Wilt thou 
play with him as with a bird, or wilt thou bind him for 
thy maidens?" 



THE CUCKOO. 



The Cuckoo only twice mentioned in Scripture — Difficulty of identifying the 
Shachaph — The common species, and the Great Spotted Cuckoo — Deposit- 
ing the egg — Conjectures respecting the Shachaph — Etymology of the word— 
The various gulls, and other sea-birds. 

Only in two instances is the word Cuckoo found in the Author- 
ized Version of the Bible, and as they occur in parallel passages 
they are practically reduced to one. In Lev. xi. 16 we find it 
mentioned among the birds that might not be eaten, and the 
same prohibition is repeated in Deut. xiv. 15, the Jews being 
ordered to hold the bird in abomination. 

The Hebrew word is shachaph (the vowels to be pronounced 
as in " mat "), but as to the precise bird which is signified we can 
but conjecture. The etymology of the word gives us but little 
assistance. Shachaph is derived from a root that signifies lean- 
ness or slenderness ; but it is not very easy to base an inter- 
pretation on such grounds. In the Jewish Bible the word is 
rendered as " Cuckoo," but with the addition of the doubtful 
mark. 



406 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



It is possible that the bird may be the Shachaph of the 
Pentateuch, for several species of Cuckoo are known to inhabit 
the Holy Land. One of them is the species with which we are 
so familiar in this country by sound, if not by sight, and which 
possesses in Palestine the same habits as in England. It is 
rather remarkable, by the way, that the Arabic name for the bird 
is exactly the same as ours, the peculiar cry having supplied the 
name. Its habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds 
is well known, together with the curious fact, that although so 
large a bird, measuring more than a foot in length, its egg is not 
larger than that of the little birds, such as the hedge-sparrow, 
robin, or redstart. 

Besides this species, another Cuckoo inhabits Palestine, and 




THE GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO. 

And the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind." — Lev. xi. 10 ; 
Deut. xiv. 15. 



is much more common. This is the Great Spotted Cuckoo 
(Oxylophus glandarivs). The birds belonging to this genus have 
been separated from the other Cuckoos because the feathers on 
the head are formed into a bold crest, in some species, such as 



THE CUCKOO. 407 

Le Vaillant's Cuckoo, reminding the observer of the crest of the 
cockatoo. This fine bird measures nearly sixteen inches in 
length, and can be distinguished, not only by the crested head, 
but by the reddish grey of the throat and chest, and the white 
tips of the wing and tail feathers. 

This species lays its eggs in the nests of comparatively large 
birds, such as the rooks, crows, and magpies ; and it is a remark- 
able fact, that just as the egg of the English Cuckoo is very small, 
so as to suit the nests of the little birds in which it is placed, 
that of the Great Spotted Cuckoo is as large as the average rook's 
egg, so as to be in proportion to the nests of the larger birds. 

Many commentators believe that by the word shachaph was 
signified some species of sea-gull, or at all events some marine 
bird. As such birds live on fish, they would necessarily com* 1 
into the class of unclean birds, and there is on that account 
some probability that the suggestion is a correct one. 

Dr. Lewysohn has a very elaborate disquisition on the subject 
in which he decides that the creature was one of the sea-birds, and 
derives its name of Shachaph, or " attenuated," from the meagre- 
ness of its proportions. Of the various sea-birds, he selects the 
petrel as the species which he thinks to have been signified by 
the word. This bird, as he says, is a very lean one, having many 
feathers, but very little flesh, so that its limbs are no larger than 
olives, and no one could make a meal of it. This last remark, 
however, tends to diminish rather than to establish his theory, 
as, if the bird could not be eaten, there would have been no 
object in prohibiting the Jews from eating it. 

He further proceeds to observe that the bird is unable to 
scratch, and may therefore be given to a child as a playfellow, 
and that it is capable of being domesticated and living in a cage. 
There is, however, no argument here, and the theory is not a 
tenable one. 

Mr. Tristram, with far more probability, suggests that if the 
bird be not one of the Cuckoos, and be really a sea-bird, it may 
be one of the shearwaters which live in such numbers on the 
sea-shore of Palestine. He mentions especially two species, the 
Great Shearwater (Puffinus cinereus) and the Manx Shearwater 
{Puffinus anglorum), both of which are extremely plentiful on 
the coast, skimming continually over the water, and being at the 



408 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

present day regarded by the Mahometans with superstitious 
awe, being thought to be the ever-restless souls of the con- 
demned, who are doomed to fly backwards and forwards con- 
tinually until the end of the world, clad in sombre plumage, and 
never permitted to rest. 

Besides the shearwater, many species of gull inhabit the same 
coast, and it is not at all unlikely that the word shachaph was 
used in a collective sense, as we have seen to be the case with 
tzippor, and signified any of the marine birds, without aiming at 
distinction of species. 



THE DOVE. 

Parallel "between the lamb and the Dove — Derivation of the Hebrew word 
Yondh — The Dove and the olive branch — Abram's sacrifice, and its acceptance 
— The sacrifice according to the law of Moses — The Dove-sellers of the 
Temple — Talmudical zoology — The story of Ilisch— The Dove and the raven 
— The Dove a type of Israel — The Beni-yonah, or Sons of Pigeons —Home- 
finding instinct of the pigeon — The Oriental Dove-cotes — Voice of the 
Dove — Its strength of wing — The Dove's dung of Samaria — Various pigeons 
of Palestine— The Rock-Dove and its multitudes — The Dove and the Griffon 
— The Turtle-Doves of Palestine, and their appearance and habits. 

In giving the Scriptural history of the Doves and Pigeons, we 
shall find ourselves rather perplexed in compressing the needful 
information into a reasonable space. There is no bird which 
plays a more important part, both in the Old and the New 
Testaments, or which is employed so largely in metaphor and 
symbol. 

The Doves and Pigeons were to the birds what were the sheep 
and lambs to the animals, and, like them, derived their chief 
interest from their use in sacrifice. Both the lamb and the 
young pigeon being emblems of innocence, both were used on 
similar occasions, the latter being in many instances permitted 
when the former were too expensive for the means of the offerer. 
As to the rendering of the Hebrew words which have been 
translated as Pigeon, Dove, and Turtle Dove, there has never 



THE DOVE. 409 

been any discussion. The Hebrew word yondh has always been 
acknowledged to signify the Dove or Pigeon, and the word tdr 
to signify the Turtle Dove. Generally, the two words are used 
in combination, so that tor-yondh signifies the Turtle Dove. 

Though the interpretation of the word yondh is universally 
accepted, there is a little difficulty about its derivation, and its 
signification apart from the bird. Some have thought that it is 
derived from a root signifying warmth, in allusion to the warmth 
of its affection, the Dove having from time immemorial been 
selected as the type of conjugal love. Others, among whom is 
Buxtorf, derive it from a word which signifies oppression, because 
the gentle nature of the Dove, together with its inability to 
defend itself, cause it to be oppressed, not only by man, but by 
many rapacious birds. 

The first passage in which we hear of the Dove occurs in the 
earlier part of Genesis. Indeed, the Dove and the raven are the 
first two creatures that are mentioned by any definite names, 
the word nachosh, which is translated as " serpent " in Gen. iii. 1, 
being a collective word signifying any kind of serpent, whether 
venomous or otherwise, and not used for the purpose of desig- 
nating any particular species. 

Turning to Gen. viii. 8, we come to the first mention of the 
Dove. The whole passage is too familiar to need quoting, and 
it is only needful to say that the Dove was sent out of the ark 
in order that Noah might learn whether the floods had subsided, 
and that, after she had returned once, he sent her out again 
seven days afterwards, and that she returned, bearing an olive- 
branch (or leaf, in the Jewish Bible). Seven days afterwards he 
sent the Dove for the third time, but she had found rest on the 
earth, and returned no more. 

It is not within the province of this work to treat, except in 
the most superficial manner, of the metaphorical signification of 
the Scriptures. I shall, therefore, allude but very slightly to the 
metaphorical sense of the passages which record the exit from 
the ark and the sacrifice of Noah. Suffice it to say that, putting 
entirely aside all metaphor, the characters of the raven and the 
Dove are well contrasted. The one went out, and, though the 
trees were at that time submerged, it trusted in its strong wings, 
and hovered above the watery expanse until the flood had sub- 



410 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

sided. The Dove, on the contrary, fond of the society of man, 
and having none of the wild, predatorial habits which distinguish 
the raven, twice returned to its place of refuge, before it was 
finally able to find a resting-place for its foot. 

After this, we hear nothing of the Dove until the time of 
Abraham, some four hundred years afterwards, when the cove- 
nant was made between the Lord and Abram, when " he believed 
in the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness. " In 
order to ratify this covenant he was ordered to offer a sacrifice, 
which consisted of a young heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtle- 
dove, and a young dove or pigeon. The larger animals were 
severed in two, but the birds were not divided, and between the 
portions of the sacrifice there passed a lamp of fire as a symbol 
of the Divine presence. 

In after days, when the promise that the seed of Abram 
should be as the stars of heaven for multitude had been amply 
fulfilled, together with the prophecy that they should be 
"strangers in a land that was not theirs," and should be in 
slavery and under oppression for many years, the Dove was 
specially mentioned in the new law as one of the creatures that 
were to be sacrificed on certain defined occasions. 

Even the particular mode of offering the Dove was strictly 
defined. See Lev. i. 14 — 17 : " If the burnt sacrifice for his 
offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering 
of turtle-doves, or of young pigeons. 

"And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off 
his head, and burn it on the altar ; and the blood thereof shall 
be wrung out at the side of the altar. 

" And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast 
it beside the altar, on the east part, by the place of the ashes. 

" And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not 
divide it asunder : and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, 
upon the wood that is upon the fire." 

Here we have a repetition not only of the sacrifice of Abram, 
but of the mode in which it was offered, care being taken that 
the body of the bird should not be divided. There is a slight, 
though not very important variation in one or two portions of 
this passage. For example, the wringing off the head of the 
bird is, literally, pinching off, and had to be done with the 
thumb nail ; and the passage which is by some translators ren- 






THE DOVE. 411 

dered as the crop and the feathers, is by others translated as the 
crop and its contents — a reading which seems to be more con- 
sonant with the usual ceremonial of sacrifice than the other. 

As a general rule, the pigeon was only sanctioned as a sacri- 
ficial animal in case one of more value could not be afforded ; 
and so much care was taken in this respect, that with the 
exception of the two " sparrows " (tzipporim) that were enjoined 
as part of the sacrifice by which the cleansed leper was received 
back among the people (Lev. xiv. 4), no bird might be offered 
in sacrifice unless it belonged to the tribe of pigeons. 

It was in consequence of the poverty of the family that the 
Virgin Mary brought two young pigeons when she came to 
present her new-born Son in the Temple. For those who were 
able to afford it, the required sacrifice was a lamb of the first 
year for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or Turtle Dove for 
a sin-offering. But " if she be not able to bring a lamb, then 
she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, the one for 
the burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering." The extra- 
ordinary value which all Israelites set upon the first-born son is 
well known, both parents even changing their own names, and 
being called respectively the father and mother of Elias, or 
Joseph, as the case may be. If the parents who had thus 
attained the summit of their wishes possessed a lamb, or could 
have obtained one, they would most certainly have offered it in 
the fulness of their joy, particularly when, as in the case of 
Mary, there was such cause for rejoicing; and the fact that they 
were forced to substitute a second pigeon for the lamb is a proof 
of their extreme poverty. 

While the Israelites were comparatively a small and compact- 
nation, dwelling around their tabernacle, the worshippers could 
easily offer their sacrifices, bringing them from their homes 
to the altar. But in process of time, when the nation had 
become a large and scattered one, its members residing at great 
distances, and only coming to the Temple once or twice in the 
year to offer their sacrifices, they would have found that for even 
the poor to carry their pigeons with them would have greatly 
increased the trouble, and in many cases have been almost 
impossible. 

For the sake of convenience, therefore, a number of dealers 
established themselves in the outer courts of the Temple, for 



412 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the purpose of selling Doves to those who came to sacrifice. 
Sheep and oxen were also sold for the same purpose, and, as 
offerings of money could only be made in the Jewish coinage, 
money-changers established themselves for the purpose of ex- 
changing foreign money brought from a distance for the legal 
Jewish shekel. That these people exceeded their object, and 
endeavoured to overreach the foreign Jews who were ignorant of 
the comparative value of money and goods, is evident from the 
fact of their expulsion by our Lord, and the epithets which were 
applied to them. 

As the Dove played so important a part in the Jewish worship, 
the Talmudical writers have investigated the subject with a 
curious minuteness. 

In the first place, they discuss the reasons for its selection as 
the bird of sacrifice, and always endeavour to represent it as 
contrasted with the raven — all birds of the raven kind, i. e. the 
rooks, crows, magpies, and the like, being set down as cunning, 
deceptive, and thieving ; while all the pigeon kind are mild, 
true, and loving. There is a curious story which illustrates this 
idea. A certain man named Ilisch, who understood the language 
of birds, was " once upon a time " in captivity, when he heard 
the cry of a raven, which called out to him, " Ilisch ! Ilisch ! 
flee ! flee ! " But Ilisch said within himself, " I believe not this 
lying bird." But next came a Dove, which said the same words 
Then said Ilisch, " I believe this bird, because Israel is compared 
to a dove." 

Here this Ilisch, whoever he may be, referred to the Talmu- 
dical writers on the subject of the Dove, which they delighted 
to compare with Israel in a variety of ways, some of them being 
very obscure and rather far-fetched. For example, of all birds 
the Dove is the most persecuted, being gentle, meek, and unable 
to resist. She cannot fight with her beak or her claws, and has 
only her wings, with which she will flee away if she is able, or 
if not, will fight with them. Now, as the wings are to the Dove, 
so is the law to Israel. 

The wings are the strength of the Dove. Upheld by them 
she can fly for many hours, so that the birds of prey which are 
pursuing her cannot take her. Then comes a strange notion of 
the Dove's flight. When other birds are tired, they sit down 
and fold their wings to rest. But the tired Dove never ceases 



THE DOVE. 413 

her flight ; but when one wing is fatigued, she allows it to rest, 
and continues her flight with the other. So is it with Israel, 
who, though persecuted by the Gentiles, and deprived of half 
her strength, cannot be entirely crushed, but still survives and 
asserts herself. 

One reason that is given for the gentle disposition of the 
Dove is that the bird has no gall, the gall being considered by 
the naturalists of old as the source and fountain of contention, 
the bitterness of the gall being supposed to infuse itself into the 
spirit. Probably on account of this anatomical peculiarity, the 
Dove was considered as the very pattern for married people, and 
the emblem of chastity, as it lives in the strictest monogamy, 
never desiring another mate. Unfortunately for these writers, 
the Eaven, which is always mentioned by them in strong con- 
trast with the Dove, is quite as remarkable for its attachment to 
its mate and young, and for the strictness of its monogamy, the 
same pair, when once mated, residing together for the whole of 
their lives. 

Even the age of the Dove was made a matter of consideration 
by the Talmudists, so that in great measure the original bene- 
volence of the Law was cramped by the restrictions which were 
laid upon it. As we are told by St. Paul, in Heb. ix., even 
under the old dispensation, without shedding of blood there was 
no remission of sins, and he who desired to obtain that remission 
was obliged to shed the blood of the sacrifice. Now, in order 
that poverty should be no restriction to the attainment of the 
greatest spiritual privileges, it was ordained that young pigeons 
or Turtle Doves might be substituted for the more costly animals. 

These birds cost but very little. The peasant might take 
them from the dove-cote, which was the appendage of most 
households, and he who was too poor even to have a dove-cote 
of his own might go to the rocky side of the ravines, and take 
as many young as he pleased from the myriad nests which are 
placed in the clefts. Thus, at any time of the year, the poorest 
man or woman could obtain the means of sacrifice. 

But the restrictive genius which was so sternly rebuked by 
our Lord soon made itself felt. All these birds, in order to be 
fit for sacrifice, must be Beni-yonah, i.e. Sons of Doves. The 
definition of this term is rather interesting, as it affords an 
excellent example of the hair-splitting character of these inter- 



414 BIBLE ANIMALS, 

preters of the Law. According to them, a pigeon could only be 
ranked among the Beni-yonah for a short period of its life, and, 
if it were too young or too old, it might not be offered as a 
sacrifice. 

The test of proper age lay in the feathers. If the bird were so 
young that the feathers could be pulled out without drawing 
blood, it was considered as being below age. If, on the contrary, 
blood followed the feathers, but the plumage of the neck ex- 
hibited a metallic lustre, it was reckoned as having passed the 
age of Beni-yonah. It might be a father, and not the son, of 
pigeons. When these feathers are visible, the bird changes its 
name, and is called Tor — a word which will be presently 
explained. 

According to some of these old writers, the Dove was con- 
sidered as having a superiority over other birds in the instinctive 
certainty with which it finds its way from one place to another. 
At the present time, our familiarity with the variety of pigeon 
known as the Carrier has taught us that the eye is the real 
means employed by the pigeon for the direction of its flight. 
Those who fly pigeons for long distances always take them 
several times over the same ground, carrying them to an in- 
creasing distance at every journey, so that the birds shall be 
able to note certain objects which serve them as landmarks. 

Bees and wasps have recourse to a similar plan. When a 
young wasp leaves its nest for the first time, it does not fly away 
at once, but hovers in front of the entrance for some time, getting 
farther and farther away from the nest until it has learned the 
aspect of surrounding objects. The pigeon acts in precisely the 
same manner, and so completely does it depend upon eyesight 
that, if a heavy fog should come on, the best-trained pigeon will 
lose its way. 

The old writers, however, made up their minds that the pigeon 
found its way by scent, which sense aloue, according to their 
ideas, could guide it across the sea. They were not aware of the 
power possessed by birds of making their eyes telescopic at will, 
or of the enormous increase of range which the sight obtains by 
elevation. A pigeon at the elevation of several hundred yards 
can see to an astonishing distance, and there is no need of 
imagining one sense to receive a peculiar development when the 
ordinary powers of another are sufficient to obtain the object 



THE DOVE. 415 

That dove-cotes were in use among the earlier Jews is well 
known. An allusion to the custom of keeping pigeons in cotes 
is seen in Isa. lx. 8 : " Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as 
the doves to their windows ? " or, as the Jewish Bible translates 
the passage, " as the doves to their apertures ? " In this passage 
the sacred writer utters a prophecy concerning the coming of the 
world to the Messiah, the Gentiles flocking to Him as the clouds 
of pigeons fly homeward to their cotes. 

The practice of pigeon-keeping has survived to the present 
day, the houses of wealthy men being furnished with separate 
pigeon-houses, built up of a number of earthen jars, and roofed 
over. Each jar is the habitation of a pair of pigeons, and the 
whole principle of this dove-cote is exactly the same as that 
which was employed by the late Mr. Waterton in erecting the 
starling-houses in his garden and grounds. Poorer people, who 
cannot afford to build a separate house for the pigeons, set up 
jars for them in their own houses, the pigeons gaining access to 
their nests through the door. 

The Talmudical writers have even their regulations respecting 
the keeping of tame pigeons. No one was allowed to do so who 
had not a sufficiency of ground around his house to supply food 
for them. According to their regulations, the pigeon-house must 
not be within fifty paces of cultivated ground belonging to any 
one except the owner of the pigeons. The reason for this pro- 
hibition was. that as the pigeon was known to be an exceedingly 
voracious bird, it should not feed at the expense of a neighbour. 
It was conventionally supposed to feed by choice in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the house, and, when it had filled its crop, to be 
unwilling to fly farther than was absolutely necessary. 

Being so familiar with this bird, it was to be expected that 
the writers of the Scriptures would make many references to it 
The plaintive, monotonous cooing of the pigeon is several times 
mentioned. For example : " And Huzzab shall be led away 
captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as 
with the voice of doves, taboring upon their breasts " (Nah. ii. 7). 
The Jewish Bible gives this passage in another and certainly a 
more forcible manner: "And Huzzab shall be uncovered and 
brought up, and her maids shall sigh as the voice of doves, 
drumming upon their breasts." Here the prophet alludes to the 
ancient custom of beating the breast as a sign of sorrow (a 



416 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

custom that survived even in this country until a very recent 
date), accompanied with the moanings of distress. 

The prophet Isaiah makes use of a similar metaphor : " I 
did mourn as a dove : mine eyes fail with looking upward " 
(xxxviii. 14). Also in chap. lix. 11 : "We roar all like bears, 
and mourn sore like doves " 




TIIE ROCK DOVE. 

" my dove, that art in the clefts of the rocks." — Cant. ii. 14. 

The beauty of the bird is mentioned in many passages, several 
of which occur in the Song of Solomon. " Behold, thou art fair, 
my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast dove's eyes" (1. 15). 
" His eyes are the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed 
with milk, and fitly set" (v. 12). And in several other places 
the beloved is spoken of as a Dove, as in the following passage : 
" My dove, my undetiled, is but one ; she is the only one of her 
mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her " (vi. 9). 

Allusion is made to the peculiar metallic gleam of the Dove's 
plumage in a well-known passage of the Psalms : " Though ye 
have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove 



THE DOVE. 417 

covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold" (Ps. 
ixviii. 13). 

The strong flight of the Dove is also mentioned by the Psalmist 
in an equally familiar passage : " And I said, Oh that I had wings 
like a dove ! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, 
then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness" 
(Ps. lv. 6, 7). It is scarcely necessary to advert to the well- 
known passages in which reference is made to the gentleness of 
the Dove. 

That the pigeons which are not domesticated live in the rocks 
was known to the Scripture writers, who make several references 
to the fact. 

See, for example : " ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, 
and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her 
nest in the sides of the hole's mouth " (Jer. xlviii. 28). See also 
Ezek. vii. 16 : " But they that escape of them shall escape, and 
shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them 
mourning, every one for his iniquity/' 

This is an especially graphic image. The deep valleys that 
rim between the mountain ranges are literally crowded with 
pigeons who have made their nests in the cavities. Several of 
these are so well known that they go by the name of " Valleys 
of Pigeons." 

In the Song of Solomon (ii. 14) is another reference to the 
rock-loving propensities of the Dove : " my dove, that art 
in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, 
let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice." The 
Jewish Bible gives a slightly different rendering, translating the 
word which is given as ' ; stairs " in the Authorized Version as 
'cliffs." 

That the Dovec. were caught in nets is evident from a passage 
in Hosea (vii. 11, 12) : " Ephraim also is like a silly dove with- 
ort heart : they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. 

:< When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them ; I 
will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven ; I will chastise 
them, as their congregation hath heard." 

There is one passage in the Old Testament about which great 

controversy has taken place. It occurs in 2 Kings vi. 25. When 

Ben-hadad besieged Samaria, and tried to reduce it by starvation, 

the famine wac so great in the city that " an ass's head was sold 

28 



418 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of 
dove's dung for five pieces of silver." 

Objection has been taken to this passage on the score of the 
exceeding repulsiveness of the food. This objection, however, 
cannot hold good ; for, although such diet must have been most 
repulsive, it could not have been more so than the flesh of the 
ass, an animal which was strictly forbidden as food, and held as 
unclean. Moreover, as we see in verse 29 that parents actually 
ate the flesh of their own children, it is evident that the mere 
repulsiveness of the food cannot be taken as an objection. 

A far stronger objection is to be found in the fact that even all 
the dove-cotes of Samaria >-ould not furnish a sufficient quantity 
for food, especially as the Doves themselves must have been 
killed and eaten long before the people were driven to such an 
extremity as to eat the flesh of their own children. It is far 
more probable that the " dove's-dung " was the name of a vege- 
table of some kind. We find a similar nomenclature in the 
popular names of many of our own plants, such as oxlip, cowslip, 
horse-tail, hart's-tongue, mouse-ear, maidenhair, and the like. 

We now come to the various species of Pigeons which inhabit 
Palestine. 

In the Holy Land are found all the species of Pigeons which 
inhabit England, together with one or two others. First, there 
is the Eock Pigeon, or Blue Bock Dove (Columba livia), which 
is acknowledged to be the origin of our domestic breeds of 
Pigeons, with all their infinite variety of colour and plumage. 
This species, though plentiful in Palestine, is not spread over the 
whole of the land, but lives chiefly on the coast and in the higher 
parts of the country. In these places it multiplies in amazing 
numbers, its increase being almost wholly unchecked by man, 
on account of the inaccessible cliffs in which it lays its eggs 
and nurtures its young, its only enemies being a few of the birds 
and beasts of prey, which can exercise but a trifling influence 
on these prolific birds. 

In other parts of the country the Egyptian Rock Dove (Colmnba 
Schimperi) takes the place of the more northern species. It is a 
little smaller than our own Rock Dove, and has not the whitish 
plumage on the lower part of the back. This species is quite as 
numerous as the other, and builds in similar places. Mr. Tris- 






THE DOVE. 419 

tram, while visiting the Wady (or Valley) Seimun, which lies 
near the Lake of Gennesaret, witnessed an amusing example of 
the vast number of these Pigeons. 

" No description can give an adequate idea of the myriads of 
reck pigeons. In absolute clouds they dashed to and fro in the 
ravine, whirling round with a rush and a whirr that could be felt 
like a gust of wind. It was amusing to watch them upset the 
dignity and the equilibrium of the majestic griffon as they swept 
past him. This enormous bird, quietly sailing along, was quite 
turned on his back by the sudden rush of wings and wind." 

The writer of this description has been too modest. It is 
impossible to convey a better idea of the vast multitude of birds 
than has been given by this anecdote. We are all familiar with 
the clatter of Pigeons' wings as they dart from their resting- 
place, and can well imagine how great must have been the 
multitude of birds that would fairly turn the powerful griffon- 
vulture on its back. This description may be advantageously 
compared with the passage in Isa. lx. 8: " Who are these that fly 
as a cloud ? " the sacred writer well knowing the force of his 
image when addressed to those who were familiar with the habits 
of the bird, whether it was the semi- domesticated House Pigeon 
or the wild Eock Dove. The Eing Dove {Columba palumbus) and 
the Stock Dove (Columba ocnas) are also found in Palestine. 

These birds are taken in nets, into which they are decoyed by 
a very effective though cruel device. 

When one of these birds is trapped or snared, it is seized by 
its capturers, who spare its life for the sake of using it as a decoy. 
They blind it by sewing its eyelids together, and then fasten it 
to a perch among trees. The miserable bird utters plaintive 
cries, and continually flaps its wings, thus attracting others of 
its kind, who settle on the surrounding branches and are easily 
taken, their whole attention being occupied by the cries of their 
distressed companion. 

We now come to the Turtle Doves, several of which inhabit 
the Holy Land ; but, as they are similar in habits, we will 
confine ourselves to the common species (Turtur auritus), with 
which we are so familiar in this country. The Hebrew word 
which is translated as Turtle, is tdr, a term which is usually 
employed in connexion with the word ydndh, or Dove, thus, tdr- 
ydndh. The name is evidently derived from the note of the bird. 



420 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



The reader may remember that on page 414, a curious tradition 
has been mentioned respecting the word t&r ; namely, that 
it represented the age, and not the species of a Dove. There 
is but little doubt, however, that the word really does represent 
a species, and that the Turtle Dove is the bird signified by the 
word tSr. For example, its migratory habits are noticed in the 
sacred writings. See the following passage in the Song of 
Solomon. 




THE TURTLE DOVE. 

: The voice of the turtle is heard in our land." — Cant. ii. 12. 



" Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone ; the 
flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing of birds is 
come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land " (Cant. 
ii. 11, 12). The prophet Jeremiah also refers to the migration of 
this bird : "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed 
times ; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow observe 
the time of their coming ; but my people know not the judgment 
of the Lord" (viii. 7). 



POULTRY. 421 

Beside this species, there is the Collared Turtle Dove {Turtur 
risorius), one variety of which is known in England as the 
Barbarv Dove. It is a large species, measuring more than a foot 
in length. Another species is the Palm Turtle {Turtur Senega- 
lensis), so called from its habit of nesting on palm-trees, when it 
is obliged to build at a distance from the habitations of man. It 
is a gregarious bird, several nests being generally found on one 
tree, and even, when it cannot find a palm, it will build among 
the thorns in multitudes. Like the common Dove, it is fond of 
the society of man, and is sure to make its nest among human 
habitations, secure in its knowledge that it will not be disturbed. 

It is rather a small bird, being barely ten inches in length, 
and having no " collar " on the neck, like the two preceding 
species. 



POULTRY. 

Poultry plentiful in Palestine at the present day— The Domestic Fowl unknown 
in the early times of Israel — The eating and gathering of eggs — Eeferences to 
Poultry in the New Testament — The egg and the scorpion — The fatted fowl H 
Solomon — The hen brooding over her eggs — Poultry prohibited within Jeru- 
salem — The cock-crowing. 

At the present day, poultry are plentiful both in Palestine and 
Syria, and that they were bred in the time of the Apostles is 
evident from one or two references which are made by our Lord. 
How long the Domestic Fowl had been known to the Jews is 
extremely uncertain, and we have very little to guide us in 
our search. 

That it was unknown to the Jews during the earlier period 
of their history is evident from the utter silence of the Old 
Testament on the subject. A bird so conspicuous and so plen- 
tiful would certainly have been mentioned in the Law of Moses 
had it been known to the Israelites ; but, in all its minute and 
detailed provisions, the Law is silent on the subject. 

Neither the bird itself nor its eggs are mentioned, although 
there are a few references to eggs, without signifying the bird 



422 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

which laid them. The humane provision in Dent. xxii. 6, 7, refers 
not to a domesticated, but to a wild bird : " Tf a bird's nest 
chance to be before thee in any tree, or on the ground, whether 
they be young ones, or eggs, and the dams sitting upon the 
young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the 
young : but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the 
young to thee ; that it may be well with thee, that thou mayest. 
prolong thy days." 

That eggs were used for food, is seen from Job vi. 6 : " Can 
that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any 
taste in the white of an egg?" So in Isa. fix. 5 : " They hatch 
cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spieler's web : he that eateth of 
their eggs dieth." 

There is another passage in the same book which refers to the 
gathering of eggs as mentioned in Deut. xxii. " And my hand 
hath found as a nest the riches of the people : and as one 
gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth " (Isa. 
x. 14). The well-known passage in Luke xi. 11, 12, however, 
evidently refers to the ordinary hen's egg, which was used then 
for food just as is the case at the present day : " If a son shall 
ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a 
stone ? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ? 

" Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion ? " 

There is but one passage in the Old Testament which has ever 
been conjectured to refer to the Domestic Fowl. It occurs in 
1 Kings iv. 22, 23, among the list of the daily provision of 
Solomon's household : " And Solomon's provision for one day 
was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of 
meal, 

" Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an 
hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and 
fatted fowl." 

Now the word which is here rendered as " fatted fowl " is in 
the Hebrew, barberim. Judging by the etymology of the word, 
which is derived from a root that signifies whiteness, or purity, 
it has been thought that the correct rendering would be " fattened 
white " (birds). Some Hebraists have conjectured that the white 
birds in question were geese, this term including various white 
birds, swans among the number. 

Many persons think that the fatted fowl mentioned in the 



POULTKY. 4 28 

above-quoted passage were really Domestic Fowl, which Solomon 
had introduced into Palestine, together with various other birds 
and animals, by means of his fleet. There may be truth in this 
conjecture, but, as there can be no certainty, we will pass from 
the Old Testament to the New. 




T1IE DOMESTIC FOWL. 
" As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings." — Luke xiii. 34. 

We are all familiar with the passages in which the Domestic 
Fowl is mentioned in the New Testament. There is, for example, 
that touching image employed by our Lord when lamenting over 
Jerusalem : " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the 
prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee ; how often 
would 1 have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth 
gather her brood under her wings, and ye would noW " The 



424 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

reference is evidently made to the Domesticated Fowl, which in 
the time of our Lord was largely bred in the Holy Land. 

Some writers have taken objection to this statement in con- 
sequence of a Rabbinical law which prohibited poultry from 
being kept within the walls of Jerusalem, lest in their search 
for food they should scratch up any impurity which had be<m 
buried, and so defile the holy city. But it must be remembered 
that in the time of Christ Jerusalem belonged practically to the 
Rjmans, who held it with a garrison, and who, together with 
other foreigners, would not trouble themselves about any such 
prohibition, which would seem to them, as it does to us, exceed- 
ingly puerile, not to say unjustifiable. Whether the Jews obeyed 
or disregarded the prohibition, it is evident that it would have 
been binding on the Jews alone, and that all Gentiles were 
exempt from it. Some commentators have even thought that 
the Domestic Fowl was not known in Palestine until imported 
by the Romans. 

That the bird was common in the days of our Lord is evident 
from the reference to the " cock-crowing " as a measure of time- 
Even on this subject there has been much controversy, some 
persons thinking that the words are to be understood in their 
literal sense, and others that they are merely metaphorical, and 
refer to the divisions of time under the Romans, which were 
marked by the blowing of trumpets, conventionally termed 
cock-cro wings. There is, however, no necessity to search for a 
metaphorical meaning when the literal interpretation is clear 
and intelligible. At the present day, as in all probability in 
the time of our Lord, the crowing of the cocks is employed as a 
means of reckoning time during the night, the birds crowing at 
certain hours with almost mechanical regularity. 



THE PEACOCK. 425 



THE PEACOCK. 

The foreign curiosities imported by Solomon — The word Tucciyim and itR various 
interpretations — Identity of the word with the Cingalese name of the Peacock 
— Reasons why the Peacock should have been brought to Solomon -Its sub- 
sequent neglect and extirpation. 

Among the many foreign objects which were imported by 
Solomon into Palestine, we find that the Peacock is specially 
mentioned. (See a passage which has already been mentioned 
in connexion with ivory and apes.) The sacred historian, after 
mentioning the ivory throne, the golden shields and targets, 
that all the vessels in Solomon's house were of gold, and that 
silver was so common as to be of no account, proceeds to give 
the reason for this profuse magnificence. " For the king had at 
sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram : once in three 
years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, 
and apes, and peacocks " (1 Kings x. 22). 

The word which is here translated as Peacock is in the 
Hebrew tuccvi/im, and has been rendered in various modes. 
The Jewish Bible accepts the same translation as our own, and 
does not even affix the mark of doubt. Some Hebraists have- 
rendered the word as " parrots," while others have tried to 
identify the Tucciyim with guinea-fowls. 

In the identification of any animal, much must necessarily 
depend on the country in which it is found. Now, if the reader 
will refer to page 2 of this work, he will see that India and 
Ceylon are identified as the land visited by Solomon's ships. 
In the latter island are found all the three valuables which are 
mentioned in the above-quoted passage, and it is remarkable 
that the Cingalese name for the Peacock is so similar to the 
Hebrew word, that we have every reason to believe that the 
word tucciyim or tuyeyim is in reality a Hebraic form of the 
Cingalese tokei. A similar resemblance of name occurs in 
the Hebrew and Cingalese terms for ape and elephant. 



426 BIBLE AJNIMALS. 

That this magnificent bird should have been one of those 
creatures that were imported by Solomon is almost certain. 
It would be imported for the same reason as the apes ; 
namely, for the purpose of adding to the glories of Solomon's 
house, and no bird could have been selected which would have 
a more magnificent effect than the Peacock. Moreover, although 
unknown in Palestine, it is extremely plentiful in its native 
laud, inhabiting the jungle by thousands, and, by a curious 
coincidence, being invariably most plentiful in those spots which 
are most 'frequented by tigers. In many parts of the country, 
great numbers of Peacocks frequent the temples, and live 
amicably with the sacred monkeys, passing their lives in abso- 
lute security, protected by the sanctity of the place. 

Their numbers, therefore, would render them easily accessible 
to Solomon's envoys, who would purchase them at a cheap rate 
from the native dealers, while their surpassing beauty would 
render them sure of a sale on their arrival in Jerusalem. 
Indeed, their beauty made so great an impression that they are 
separately mentioned by the sacred chronicler, the Peacock and 
the ape being the only two animals that are thought worthy of 
enumeration. 

It seems that after Solomon's death the breed of Peafowl was 
not kept up, owing in all probability to the troubles which beset 
the throne after that magnificent monarch died. 



THE PAETEIDGE. 

The word Kore and its signification— The Partridge upon the mountains — David's 
simile — The Desert Partridge and its habits — Hunting the Partridge with 
sticks— Eggs of the Partridge — A disputed reading, and probable signification 
of the passage— Egg-hunting in Palestine — The various species of Partridge 
— The Francolin and the Sand-grouse. 

There is a bird mentioned in the Old Testament, which, although 
its name is only given twice, is a very interesting bird to all 
students of the Scriptures, both passages giving an insight into 



THE PARTRIDGE. 427 

the manners and customs of the scarcely changing East. This 
is the bird called in the Hebrew Kore, a word which has been 
generally accepted as signifying some kind of Partridge. There 
is no doubt that, like most other Hebrew names of animated 
beings, the word is a collective one, signifying a considerable 
number of species. 

The first passage occurs in 1 Sam. xxvi. 20. When David was 
being pursued by Saul, and had been forced to escape from the 
city and hide himself in the rocky valleys, he compared himself 
to the Partridge, which frequented exactly the same p^ces : 
" The king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one 
doth hunt a partridge upon the mountains." 

The appositeness of this simile is perfect. The bird to which 
David alluded was in all probability the Desert Partridge 
(Ammoperdix Heyii), a species which especially haunts rocky 
and desert places, and even at the present day is exceedingly 
plentiful about the Cave ol" Adullam. The males, when they 
think themselves unobsen ed, are fond of challenging, or 
calling to each other in a loud ringing note, a peculiarity 
that has earned for the bird the Hebrew name of Kore, or 
"the caller." 

It is a very active bird, not taking to flight if it can escape 
by means of its legs, and, when pursued or disturbed, running 
with great swiftness to some rocky cleft in which it may hide 
itself, taking care to interpose, as it runs, stones or other 
obstacles between itself and the object of its alarm. Thus, 
then, it will be seen how close was the parallel between this 
bird and David, who was forced, like the Partridge, to seek for 
refuge in the rocky caves. 

But the parallel becomes even closer when we come to examine 
the full meaning of the passage. The Partridge is at the present 
day hunted on the mountains exactly as was the case in the 
time of David. The usual hunters are boys, who provide them- 
selves with a supply of stout sticks about eighteen inches in 
length, and, armed with these, they chase the birds, hurling the 
sticks one after the other along the ground, so as to strike the 
Partridge as it runs. Generally, several hunters chase the same 
bird, some of them throwing the sticks along the ground, while 
others hurl them just above the bird, so that if it should take to 
flight, it may be struck as it rises into the air. By pertinaciously 



428 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



chasing an individual bird, the hunters tire it, and contrive to, 
come so close that they are certain to strike it. 

Eude as this mode of bird-hunting may seem, it is still em- 
ployed in some parts of England, and is effective even against 
birds far more active on the wing than the Partridge. I have 




THE GREEK PARTRIDGE. 

'A partridge upon the mountains."— \ Sam. xxvi. 20. 



seen snipe killed in the New Forest by being hunted down with 
sticks. Squirrels are chased and killed in a similar manner, 
except that the "bolts," or the sticks for squirrel-hunting, arc 
weighted with lead at one end. 

The reader will now see how perfect is the image. Driven 
from the city, David was forced to wander, together with the 



THE PARTRIDGE. 429 

Desert Partridge, upon the hill- sides, and, like that bird, his 
final refuge is the rock. Then came the hunters and pursued 
him, driving him from place to place, as the boys hunt the 
Partridge, until he was weary of his life, and exclaimed in his 
despair, " I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul." 

The second passage in which the word kore is found occurs in 
Jer. xvii. 11: "As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth 
them not ; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave 
them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." 
The marginal reading of this passage gives the sense in a slightly 
different form, and commences the verse as follows : " As the 
partridge gathereth (young) which she hath not brought forth, 
so he," &c. The Jewish Bible gives the whole passage rather 
differently from both these readings : " A partridge hatching 
what it hath not laid (or borne), is he that getteth (or maketh) 
riches, and not by right (or judgment) : he shall leave them in 
the midst (or half) of his days, and at his end shall be base." 

Taking all these readings, and comparing them with the 
original, with each other, and with the context, we can have but 
little doubt that reference is made by the prophet to the number 
of unborn, i.e. unhatched, eggs on which the Partridge sits, but 
which are so often taken from her before they can be hatched. 
Just as hunting the Partridge is an acknowledged sport among 
the inhabitants of the uncultivated parts of Palestine, so is 
searching for the eggs of the bird a regular business at the 
proper time of year. 

The Partridges of Palestine are, like those of our own land, 
exceedingly prolific birds, laying a wonderful number of eggs, 
more than twenty being sometimes found in a single nest. 
These eggs are used for food, and the consumption of them is 
very great, so that many a Partridge has been deprived of her 
expected family : she has sat upon eggs, and hatched them not. 

Of these birds several species inhabit Palestine. There is, for 
example, the Desert Partridge, which has already been mentioned. 
It is beautifully, though not brilliantly, coloured, and may be 
known by the white spot behind the eye, the purple and chestnut 
streaks on the sides, and the orange bill and legs. These, however, 
soon lose their colour after death. 

Then there is the Greek Partridge (Gaccdbis saxatilis), which 



430 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is even more plentiful than the preceding species, and is more 
widely spread. It is a large bird of its kind, being much larger 
than our English species, and may be known by its size, the 
dark red legs and beak, and the bold bars on the sides. 

Mr. Tristram suggests, with much probability, that the 
Francolin, or Black Partridge of India, and the Sand-Grouse, 
may be included among the number of the birds which arc 
included under the common name of Kore. The latter bird is 
extremely plentiful in Palestine, and, in all probability, was 
classed by the unobservant Jews with the true Partridge. 



THE QUAIL. 

Signification of the word Seldv — Various passages in which the word is men- 
tioned — The locust, the stork, and the sand-grouse — Spreading the birda 
around the camp — Migration of the Quail —Drying the Quails for food — Modes 
of catching the Quail in the East — The Quail-hunters of Northern Africa — 
Quarrelsome nature of the bird — Quail-fighting in the East — How the Quails 
were brought to the Israelites. 

In one or two parts of the Old Testament is found a word 
which has been translated in the Authorized Version of the 
Bible as Quail. 

The word is seldv, and in every case where it is mentioned it 
is used with reference to the same occurrence ; namely, the pro- 
viding of flesh-meat in the wilderness, where the people could 
find no food. As the passages remarkably bear upon each other 
it will be advisable to quote them in the order in' which they 
come. 

The first mention of the Selav occurs in Exod. xvi. Only a 
few days after the Israelites had passed the Eed Sea, they began 
to complain of the desert land into which Moses had led them, 
and openly said that they wished they had never left the land 
of their slavery, where they had plenty to eat. According to 
His custom, pitying their narrow-minded and short-sighted folly, 



THE QUAIL. 



431 



the natural result of the long servitude to which they had been 
subject, the Lord promised to send both bread and flesh-meat. 

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 

" I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel : 
speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the 




THE QUAIL. 

The people asked, and He brought quails.''— Psalm cv. 40. 



morning ye shall be filled with bread ; and ye shall know that 1 
am the Lord your God. 

"And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and 
covered the camp " (ver. 11-13). 

The next passage records a similar circumstance, which 
occured about a year afterwards, when the Israelites were tired 



432 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of eating nothing but the manna, and again wished themselves 
back in Egypt. " And there went forth a wind from the Lord, 
and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, 
as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's 
journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were 
two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 

" And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, 
and all the next day, and they gathered the quails : he that 
gathered least gathered ten homers ; and they spread them 
all abroad for themselves round about the camp " (Numb, 
xi. 31, 32). 

The last passage in which Quails are mentioned occurs in the 
Psalms. In Ps. cv. are enumerated the various wonders done 
on behalf of the Israelites, and among thern is specially men- 
tioned this gift of the Quails and manna. " The people asked, 
and He brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of 
heaven " (ver. 40). 

We now have to ask ourselves what the word seldv really 
means. Some commentators have thought that it signified a 
species of locust, insects whieh travel in vast multitudes, and 
are always carried with the wind, thus agreeing with the state- 
ment that the Selavim were brought by the wind. Others have 
imagined that the Selavim were flying-fish, blown on shore as 
they rose from the sea after their fashion. Putting aside other 
reasons against these interpretations, the Psalms contain a 
passage which effectually contradicts them, and proves that the 
Selav was a bird of some kind. 

" He had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the 
doors of heaven, 

" And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had 
given them of the corn of heaven. 

" Man did eat angels' food : He sent them meat to the full. 

" He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven ; and by His 
power He brought in the south wind. 

" He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls 
like as the sand of the sea " (Ps. lxxviii. 23 — 27). 

From this passage it is evident that the Selavim which were 
sent together with the manna were birds of some kind — " fowls 
of wing," according to the literal sense of the Hebrew ; so that 
the theory that/ they were insects or fish must be dismissed as 



THE QUAIL. 433 

untenable. The question now remains, with what species of 
bird are we to identify the Selav ? 

Respecting this question, there has been great discussion, 
chiefly arising from the fact that the various commentators 
endeavoured to show that the Selav was not the Quail, but some 
other bird. Some, for example, take it to be the white stork, 
which is very plentiful in Palestine, and sometimes flies in such 
numbers that the sky is darkened as the winged host passes by. 
They base this supposition on the stature of the bird, which is 
so tall that it stands about " two cubits high upon the face of 
the earth." So it does, but this is a very insufficient reason for 
translating the word selav as ' ; stork." 

In the first place, the words " as it were two cubits high upon 
the face of the earth " certainly do not refer to the stature of 
the individual birds. They are popularly taken to signify that 
the earth was covered with the bodies of the Selavim to the 
depth of three feet. 

This, however, can hardly have been the fact, as in that case 
they would have utterly overwhelmed the whole camp, and 
crushed the tents by their weight. Moreover, there would 
have been no need of gathering them up, as they would have 
lain so thickly on the ground that the only trouble would have 
been to make a passage through them. It is not very easy 
to force a passage through snow a yard in depth, while to do 
so through the same depth of birds would have been almost 
impossible. 

Neither could the Israelites have " spread them all abroad 
for themselves round about the camp." If the Selavim lay to 
the depth of a yard " as it were a day's journey on this side, 
and a day's journey on the other side of the camp," i.e. some 
eight or ten miles all round it, there would have been no space 
whereon the birds could have been spread. The sentence in 
question has a totally different signification, and refers to the 
height from the ground at which the birds fly. Taken in this 
sense, the whole passage falls into harmony, whereas in any 
other it involves a difficulty. 

If the ordinary interpretation of selav by " Quail " be accepted, 

the description is exactly correct. The Quails fly in vast flocks, 

and, being weak-winged birds, never fly against the direction of 

the wind. They will wait for days until the wind blows in the 

29 



434 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

required direction, and will then take wing in countless multi- 
tudes ; so that in an hour or two a spot on which not a Quail 
could be seen is covered with them. 

On account of their short wings, they never rise to any great 
height, even when crossing the sea, while on land they fly at a 
very low elevation, merely skimming over the ground, barely a 
yard or " two cubits high upon the face of the earth." We may 
now see how needless it is to attribute the two cubits to the 
stature of the bird, or to the depth at which they lay on the 
ground. 

There are other reasons why the Selav could not be any 
species of stork. In the first place, all the stork tribe are in- 
cluded among the list of unclean birds, and it is not likely that 
the Almighty would have neutralized His own edicts by pro- 
viding food which the Israelites were forbidden to eat. In the 
next place, even had the flesh of the stork been lawful, it is of 
so unpleasant a nature that the people could not have eaten it. 
For similar reasons we may dismiss the theories which consider 
the Selav to be a goose or water-fowl of any kind. 

Some persons have thought that the sand-grouse is the Selav. 
In the first place, the flesh of this bird is hard, tasteless, and dis- 
liked by those who have tried it ; so that the Israelites would 
not have been tempted to eat it. In the next, it is a strong- 
winged and swift-footed bird, and would not have satisfied the 
required conditions. It flies high in the air, instead of merely 
skimming over the ground, and when it alights is fresh and 
active, and cannot easily be caught. The Quail, on the con- 
trary, after it has flown for any distance, is so completely 
tired out that when it alights it crouches to the earth, and will 
allow itself to be picked up by hand. It has even been trodden 
to death under a horse's feet. 

Moreover, the flesh of the Quail is peculiarly excellent, and 
would be a great temptation to men who had passed so long a 
time without eating animal food. Another corroboration of the 
identity of the Quail and the Selav is to be found in the mode 
in which the flesh is prepared at the present day. As soon as 
the birds have arrived, they are captured in vast multitudes, on 
account of their weariness. Many are consumed at once, but 
great numbers are preserved for future use by being split and 
laid out to dry ill the sun, precisely as the Israelites are said to 



THE QUAIL. 435 

have spread out the Selavim " all abroad for themselves round 
about the camp." 

It is rather remarkable that the Arabs of the present day use 
a word almost exactly resembling seldv to represent the Quail. 
The word is salwa, given by one of the older writers on the 
subject as selaw. 

Accepting, therefore, the Selav and Quail to be identical, we 
may proceed to the description of the bird. 

It is small, plump, and round-bodied, with the head set 
closely on the shoulders. Owing to this peculiarity of form, it 
has its Arab name, which signifies plumpness or fatness. The 
wings are pressed closely to the body, and the tail is pointed, 
very short, and directed downwards, so that it almost appears to 
be absent, and the bird seems to be even more plump than 
really is the case. 

Several modes of capturing these birds are still practised in 
the East, and were probably employed, not only on the two 
occasions mentioned in Exodus and Numbers, but on many 
others of which the Scriptural narrative takes no notice. One 
very simple plan is, for the hunters to select a spot on which the 
birds are assembled, and to ride or walk round them in a iarge 
circle, or rather in a constantly diminishing spiral. The birds 
are by this process driven closer and closer together, until at the 
last they are packed in such masses that a net can be thrown 
over them, and a great number captured in it. 

Sometimes a party of hunters unite to take the Quails, and 
employ a similar manoeuvre, except that, instead of merely 
walking round the Quails, they approach simultaneously from 
opposite points, and then circle round them until the birds are 
supposed to be sufficiently packed. At a given signal they all 
converge upon the terrified birds, and take them by thousands 
at a time. 

In Northern Africa these birds are captured in a very similar 
fashion. As soon as notice is given that a flight of Quails has 
settled, all the men of the village turn out with their great 
burnouses or cloaks. Making choice of some spot as a centre, 
where a quantity of brushwood grows or is laid down, the men 
surround it on all sides, and move slowly towards it, spreading 
(heir cloaks in their outstretched hands, and flapping them like 
the wings of huge birds. Indeed, when a man is seen from a 



436 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

little distance performing this act, he looks more like a huge bat 
than a human being. 

As the men gradually converge upon the brushwood, the 
Quails naturally run towards it for shelter, and at last they all 
creep under the treacherous shade. Still holding their out- 
spread cloaks in their extended hands, the hunters suddenly run 
to the brushwood, fling their cloaks over it, and so enclose the 
birds in a trap from which they cannot escape. Much care is 
required in this method of hunting, lest the birds should take to 
flight, and so escape. The circle is therefore made of very great 
size, and the men who compose it advance so slowly that the 
Quails prefer to use their legs rather than their wings, and do 
not think of flight until their enemies are so close upon them 
that their safest course appears to be to take refuge in the 
brushwood. 

Boys catch the Quails in various traps and springes, the most 
ingenious of which is a kind of trap, the door of which over- 
balances itself by the weight of the bird. 

By reason of the colour of the Quail, and its inveterate habit 
of keeping close to the ground, it easily escapes observation, and 
even the most practised eye can scarcely distinguish a single 
bird, though there may be hundreds within a very small compass. 
Fortunately for the hunters, and unfortunately for itself, it 
betrays itself by its shrill whistling note, which it frequently 
emits, and which is so peculiar that it will at once direct the 
hunter to his prey. 

This note is at the same time the call of the male to the 
female and a challenge to its own sex. Like all the birds of its 
group, the Quail is very combative, and generally fights a battle 
for the possession of each of its many mates. It is not gifted 
with such weapons of offence as some of its kinsfolk, but it is none 
the less quarrelsome, and fights in its own way as desperately as 
the game-cock of our own country. 

Indeed, in the East, it is used for exactly the same purpose as 
the game-cock. Battles between birds and beasts, not to say 
men, are the common amusement with Oriental potentates, and, 
when they are tired of watching the combats of the larger 
animals, they have Quail-fights in their own chambers. The 
birds are selected for this purpose, and are intentionally fur- 
nished with stimulating food, so as to render them even more 



THE QUAIL. 437 

quarrelsome than they would be by nature. Partridges are 
employed for the same cruel purpose ; and as both these birds 
are easily obtained, and are very pugnacious, they are especially 
suited for the sport. 

Two passages occur in the Scriptures which exactly explain 
the mode in which the Quails were sent to the Israelites. The 
first is in Ps. lxxviii. 26. The Psalmist mentions that the Lord 
"caused an east wind to blow in the heaven, and by His power 
He brought in the south wind." Here, on examining the geo- 
graphical position of the Israelites, we see exactly how the 
south-east wind would bring the Quails. 

The Israelites had just passed the Eed Sea, and had begun to 
experience a foretaste of the privations which they were to expect 
in the desert through which they had to pass. Passing north- 
wards in their usual migrations, the birds would come to the 
coast of the Eed Sea, and there would wait until a favourable 
wind enabled them to cross the water. The south-east wind 
afforded them just the very assistance which they needed, and 
they would naturally take advantage of it. 

It is remarkable how closely the Scriptural narrative agrees 
with the habits of the Quail, the various passages, when com- 
pared together, precisely coinciding with the character of the 
bird. In Exod. xvi. 13 it is mentioned that "at even the 
quails came up and covered the camp." Nocturnal flight is one 
of the characteristics of the Quail. When possible, they in- 
variably fly by night, and in this manner escape many of the 
foes which would make great havoc among their helpless columns 
if they were to fly by day. 

The identity of the Selav with the common Quail is now seen 
to be established. In the first place, we have the name still 
surviving in the Arabic language. Next, the various details of 
the Scriptural narrative point so conclusively to the bird, that 
even if we were to put aside the etymological corroboration, we 
could have but little doubt on the subject. There is not a detail 
which is not correct. The gregarious instinct of the bird, which 
induces it to congregate in vast numbers ; its habit of migration ; 
its inability to fly against the wind, and the necessity for it to 
await a favourable breeze ; its practice of flying by night, and its 
custom of merely skimming over the surface of the ground ; the 
ease with which it is captured ; the mode of preserving by 



438 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

drying in the sun, and the proverbial delicacy of its flesh, are 
characteristics which all unite in the Quail. 

Before closing our account of the Quail, it will be as well to 
devote a short space to the nature of the mode by which the 
Israelites were twice fed. Commentators who were unacquainted 
with the natural history of the bird have represented the whole 
occurrence as a miraculous one, and have classed it with the 
division of the Eed Sea and of the Jordan, with the various 
plagues by which Pharaoh was induced to release the Israelites, 
and with many other events which we are accustomed to call 
miracles. 

In reality, there is scarcely anything of a miraculous character 
about the event, and none seems to have been claimed for it. 
The Quails were not created at the moment expressly for the 
purpose of supplying the people with food, nor were they even 
brought from any great distance. They were merely assisted in 
the business on which they were engaged, namely, their migra- 
tion or customary travel from south to north, and waiting on the 
opposite side of the narrow sea for a south-east wind. That 
such a wind should blow was no miracle. The Quails expected 
it to blow, and without it they could not have crossed the sea. 
That it was made to blow earlier than might have been the case 
is likely enough, but that is the extent of the miraculous cha- 
racter of the event. Taking the word in its ordinary sense, no 
miracle was wrought, simply because none was wanted. Granting 
to the fullest extent that He who arranged the course of the 
world can alter His arrangements as easily as He made them, 
we cannot but see that in this case no alteration was needed, 
and that, in consequence, none was made. 



THE RAVEN. 439 



THE RAVEN. 

Signification of the word Orel — The Raven tribe plentiful in Palestine — The 
Raven and the Dove — Elijah and the Ravens — Various explanations of the 
circumstance — Feeding the young Ravens — Luis of Grenada's sermon — The 
white Raven of ancient times — An old legend — Reference to the blackness 
of the Raven's plumage — Dosert-Joving habits of the Raven — Its mode of 
attacking the eye — Notions of the old commentators — Ceremonial use of the 
Raven — Return of the Ravens — Cunning of the bird — Nesting-places of the 
Raven — The magpie and its character — The starling — Its introduction into 
Palestine — The Rabbi perplexed — Solution of the difficulty. 

It is more than probable that, while the Hebrew word oreb 
primarily signifies the bird which is so familiar to us under the 
name of Haven, it was also used by the Jews in a much looser 
sense, and served to designate any of the Corvidre, or Crow tribe, 
such as the raven itself, the crow, the rook, the jackdaw, and 
the like. We will first take the word in its restricted sense, and 
then devote a brief space to its more extended signification. 

As might be expected from the cosmopolitan nature of the 
Raven, it is very plentiful in Palestine, and even at the present 
time is apparently as firmly established as it was in the days 
when the various Scriptural books were written. 

There are few birds which are more distinctly mentioned in 
the Holy Scriptures than the Raven, though the passages in 
which its name occurs are comparatively few. It is the first bird 
which is mentioned in the Scriptures, its name occurring in 
Gen. viii. 7 : " And it came to pass at the end of forty days 
that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made ; 

"And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro 
until the waters were dried up from off the earth." 

Here we have, at the very outset, a characteristic account of 
the bird, it left the ark, and flew to and fro, evidently for the 
purpose of seeking food. The dove, which immediately followed 
the Raven, acted in a different manner. She flew from the ark 
in search of food, and, finding none, was forced to return again. 



440 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



The Kaven, on the contrary, would find plenty of food in the 
bodies of the various animals that had been drowned, and were 
floating on the surface of the waters, and, therefore, needed not 
to enter again into the ark. The context shows that it made the 
ark a resting-place, and that it " went forth to and fro," or, as 




THE RAVEN. 

Who provideth for the raven his food?"— Job xxxviii. 41. 



the Hebrew Bible renders the passage, " in going and returning," 
until the waters had subsided. Here, then, is boldly drawn the 
distinction between the two birds, the carrion-eater and the 
feeder on vegetable substances— a distinction to which allusion 
has already been made in the history of the dove. 

Passing over the declaration in Lev. xi. 15 and Deut. xiv. 14, 
that every Eaven (i.e. the Eaven and all its tribe) is unclean, we 



THE RAVEN. 441 

come to the next historical mention of the bird. This occurs in 
1 Kings xvii. When Elijah had excited the anger of Ahab by 
prophesying three years of drought, he was divinely ordered to 
take refuge by the brook Chcrith, one of the tributaries of the 
Jordan. " And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook ; 
and I have commanded the ravens [orebirri] to feed thee there. 

" So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord : 
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before 
Jordan. 

" And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morn- 
ing, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the 
brook." 

In this passage we have a history of a purely miraculous 
character. It is not one that can be explained away. Some 
have tried to do so by saying that the banished prophet found 
the nests of the Eavens, and took from them daily a supply of 
food for his sustenance. The repetition of the words " bread 
and flesh " shows that the sacred writer had no intention of 
signifying a mere casual finding of food which the Eavens 
brought for their young, but that the prophet was furnished with 
a constant and regular supply of bread and meat twice in the 
day. It is a statement which, if it be not accepted as the 
account of a miracle, must be rejected altogether. 

I may here mention that an explanation of the passage has 
been offered by some commentators, who render the word 
oixbwi as "Arabs," and so arrive at the conclusion that the 
prophet was led in his retirement by the Arab tribes which 
came to the brook for water. Others have thought that the 
Orebim were the inhabitants of a village called Orbo, near the 
Cherith. There is, however, no need of any such explanations. 
The account of the prophet's flight to the Cherith and of the 
daily supply of food which he received has been accepted as a 
simple statement of facts by all Jewish writers, and there is no 
alternative but either to accept it in the same sense or to 
reject it. 

This part of the subject naturally leads to certain passages in 
which the feeding of the young Eavens is mentioned. See, for 
example, Job xxxviii. 41 : " Who provideth for the raven his 
food ? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack 
of meat." This passage is rendered rather differently and more 



442 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

forcibly in the Jewish Bible. "Who provideth for the raven 
his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for 
lack of meat ? " A passage of similar import occurs in Ps. 
cxlvii. 9 : "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young 
ravens which cry." An evident reference is made to these 
passages in Luke xii. 24 : " Consider the ravens : for they neither 
sow nor reap ; which neither have storehouse nor barn ; and God 
feedeth them : how much more are ye better than the fowls ? " 

In all these cases reference is made to a curious idea which 
prevailed respecting the Raven. It was thought that the Eaven 
was a cruel parent, and that after the eggs were hatched it 
cared nothing for the young until they were full fledged. As, 
moreover, the bird was thought to be peculiarly late in attaining 
its plumage, the young Ravens must all die of hunger, were 
they not fed in some remarkable manner. This subject is 
treated at some length by Luis of Grenada in his Sermons. As 
the passage in question is a very curious one, I give both the 
original and a translation. For the latter I am indebted to the 
Rev. C. J. Smith, author of " Synonyms and Antonyms," who 
has preserved, with much success, the quaint structure of the 
language. 

" Dominica XIV. post Pent. Concio 1 : 

" Nisi hsec enim omnia magnam nobis admirationis materiam 
divinaeque providentiae notitiam praeberent, nequaquam Dominus 
inter cetera sapientiae et providentiae suae argumenta hoc etiam 
commemoraret, cum ad Job ait : l Quis praeparat corvo escam 
suam, quando pulli ejus clamant ad Deum vagantes eo quod 
non habeant cibos?' 1 Et in Psal. : 'Qui dat jumentis escarn 
ipsorum et pullis corvorum invocantibus eum.' 2 

" Cur autem hoc in loco pullorum corvi praecipue meminerit, 
in causa est, quod in his miro modo singularis providentiae cura 
elucet. Ait enim interpres quidam corvorum pullos eum im- 
plumes adhuc sunt, candorem prae se ferre : ideoque a paren- 
tibus ut nothos negligi, quod eorum non referant colorem. Quo 
tempore divina providentia, quae nusquam dormit, eos ad se 
clainantes alit. Vermiculos enim quosdam in nidulo nasci 
constituit, quorum esu sustentantur donee nono tandem die 
nascentibus plumis parentum colorem referant, atque ita demum 
ab illis nutriantur. 

1 Job xxxviii. 2 Ps. cxlvii 



THE RAVEN. 443 

" Cum igitur divina providentia nulla in re neque animalculis 
istis etiam si a patribus deserantur desit, quanta ilia diffidentia 
est, quae solis hominibus earn deesse profitetur ? Si homo inter 
omnes inlerioris hujus mundi creaturas nobilissimum et pulcher- 
rimum animal est, si solus ipse Dei imagine insignitus, si ipse 
hujus mannas familias princeps ac dominus est, si ejus obsequio 
cuncta militant, si omnia rerum conditor subiecit pedibus ejus 
oves et boves universas, insuper et pecora campi, &c. qui fieri 
potest ut cum hujus mundi moderator Dfis nullum neque ani- 
malculum neque vermiculum a providential sua? cura excludat, 
sed omnibus abunde omnia suppeditat, pium hominem (cujus 
obsequio cuncta destinavit) fame et inedia confici patiatur. Si 
pater aliquis filii sui familiam, servos, ancillas, et jumenta dili- 
genter curaret, illisque necessaria abunde provideret, quomodo 
filium fame perire sineret, cujus familiam tanta cura fovet et 
alit ? Quis enim hoc in animum inducere possit ? Hasc ijitur 
altera ratio est qua celestis Magister diffidentiam nostram curare, 
et spem alere atque fulcire studet." 

"Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Sermon 1 : 

"For if it were not that all these things afford to us great 
matter of admiration and demonstration of the providence of 
God, it were in vain that the Lord, among other tokens of His 
wisdom and providence, had selected this also, when He saith 
in Job : 'Who provide! h for the raven his food? when his young 
ones cry unto God, wandering for lack of meat.' And in the 
Psalms : ' Who giveth their own food to the cattle, and to the 
young ravens that call upon Him.' 

" Now that in this place He hath been mainly mindful of the 
ravens' young, is partly for this cause, that marvellously in 
them the singular care of Providence doth show forth. For a 
certain annotator saith, that the young ravens while as yet they 
are unfledged do appear ot whiteness, and therefore are neglected 
of their parents as if they w 7 ere bastards, seeing that they 
resemble not their colour. At which time Divine Providence, 
who nowhere sleepeth, doth feed them who call upon Himself. 
For He causeth certain vermicles (small worms) to be bred in 
the little nest, by eating of which they are sustained, until at 
length on the ninth day, the feathers beginning to grow, they 
resemble the colour of their parents, and so come to be nourished 
by them. 



44:4: BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" Seeing then that Divine Providence is never wanting in any 
matter, not even to these little creatures, though they be deserted 
of their parents, how great is that distrust which averreth that it 
is wanting unto men alone ! If man be among all the creatures of 
this lower world the noblest and the fairest of things ; if he alone 
be made illustrious by God's image ; if he himself be of this great 
family the leader and lord ; if in obedience to him all things 
serve ; if the Constructor of all things hath put under his feet 
' all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field ; ' how shall 
it be that when the Lord, the Ruler of this world, shutteth out 
none, neither insect nor worm, from the care of His providence, 
but supplieth abundantly all things for all, He should suffer the 
righteous man, for whose service He hath appointed all things, 
to perish of hunger and lack of food ? 

" If it be that every father would diligently care for his son's 
household, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and cattle, and 
provide them abundantly with all things needful, how should 
He suffer His sons to perish whose families He cherisheth and 
feedeth with so great care ? Who, indeed, could harbour such 
a thought? This then is another consideration whereby the 
heavenly Master seeks to cure our distrust, and to feed and stay 
our hope." 

Some of the old writers improved on this legend by saying 
that the worms crawled into the mouths of the young Ravens, 
so that the birds had not even the trouble of picking them up. 

Some of the ancient Jewish writers had an idea that the 
Raven was originally a white bird, and that its colour was 
changed by way of punishment for its evil disposition and 
deceitful conduct. A similar idea was held by the old mytho- 
logical writers. They said that the Raven was formerly the 
favourite bird of Apollo, and that it was celebrated for its sweet 
song and snowy white plumage. Part of its duty was to bring 
water for its master from the fountain Hippocrene. 

One day, instead of doing its duty, the bird amused itself in 
the garden, and at last fell asleep. Fearful when it awoke that 
it should be punished for its carelessness, the cunning Raven 
snatched up a snake, killed it, and brought it to Apollo, saying 
that the serpent had disputed the passage to the fountain, and 
that, after a long fight, it had just been killed. Apollo, angry 
with the bird for having told a lie, drove it from his presence, 



THE RAVEN. 445 

and as it fled its musical voice turned into a harsh croak, and 
its white plumage became black. 

" ' Liar ! ' exclaimed the god, 
The Python-killer, as from his keen eye 
The lightning darted, ' Me wouldst thou deceive 
With such a wretched tale ! Hence, hence ! begone! 
Black as thy falsehood fly through shuddering air, 
A bird of lonely night ! Dumb be thy voice 
Of sweetest melody: henceforth thy cry 
Tell but of woes and horrors, a wild shriek 
Of darkness and dismay.' " 

Knight's Quarterly Magazine 

Eeference to the blackness of the Eaven's plumage is made in 
the Song of Solomon. " My beloved is white and ruddy, the 
chiefest among ten thousand. 

" His beard is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy and 
black as a Eaven." (Cant. v. 10, 11.) A similar expression is 
common among ourselves. 

On account of its mode of life, the Eaven cannot exist in a 
wild state in cultivated ground. Hence it has disappeared from 
the greater part of England, and is seldom to be seen except 
on wide moors or in large forests. Cultivated ground affords it 
scarcely any food, and it is therefore a bird of the wilderness 
rather than of the towns. 

Like all feeders on carrion, it is wonderfully quick in detecting 
a dead or dying animal, and rivals the vulture itself in the 
sharpness of its vision. If any one who is passing over a part 
of the country where Eavens still survive, should wish to see 
one of the birds, he has only to lie flat on the ground, and 
keep his eyes nearly shut, so as only to see through the lashes. 
Should there be a Eaven within many miles, it is sure to dis- 
cover the apparently dead body, and to alight at no great 
distance, walking round and round, with its peculiar sidelong 
gait, and, if it be not checked in time, will make a dash at the 
eye of the prostrate individual, and probably blind him for life. 

This habit of pecking at the eye is inherent in all the crow 
tribe, probably because they know instinctively that if the animal 
will allow its eye to be pecked out it must be dead ; and if it 
should still possess life, it would be blinded for the moment, so 
as to allow its assailant to escape. The Scriptures note this 
custom of the Eaven, as we see in Pro v. xxx. 17 : " The eye that 



446 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

mocketh at his father and despiseth to obey his mother, the 
ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall 
eat it." 

The desert-loving habit of the Eaven is noticed in Isa. xxxiv. 
11 : "The cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl 
also and the raven shall dwell in it : and He shall stretch out 
upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness." 

We will now pass to the notices of the Eaven as given by 
the writers and commentators of the Talmud. 

Being an unclean bird, and one of ill omen, it was not per- 
mitted to perch on the roof of the Temple. According to some 
writers, it was kept off by means of scarecrows, and according 
to others, by long and sharp iron spikes set so closely together 
that there was no room for the bird to pass between them. The 
latter is by far the more probable account, as the Eaven is much 
too cunning a bird to be deceived by a scarecrow for any length 
of time. It might be alarmed at the first sight of a strange 
object, but in a very short time it would hold all scarecrows in 
supreme contempt. 

Its carrion-eating propensities were well known to the ancient 
writers, who must have had many opportunities of seeing the 
Eaven unite with the vultures in consuming the bodies, not only 
of dead animals, but of warriors killed in battle. So fond was 
the Eaven of this food that, according to those writers, the very 
smell of human blood attracted the bird ; and, if a man acci- 
dentally cut himself, or if he were bled for some illness, the 
odour of the blood would bring round the spot all the Eavens 
of the place. 

The punctuality with which the Eaven, in common with all 
its kin, returns to its roosting-place, was also familiar to the 
Talmudists, who made rather an ingenious use of this habit. 
The ceremonial law of the Jews required the greatest care in 
observing certain hours, aud it was especially necessary to know 
the precise time which marked the separation of one day from 
another. This was ascertained easily enough as long as the day 
was clear, but in case of a dull, murky day, when the course of 
the sun could not be traced, some other plan was needed. 

In the olden times, no artificial means of measuring time were 
known, and the devout Jew was consequently fearful lest he 



THE HAVEN. 447 

might unwittingly break the law by doing on one day an act 
which ought to have been done on another. A convenient 
method for ascertaining the time was, however, employed, and, 
as soon as the Kavens, rooks, and similar birds were seen 
returning to their homes, the sun was supposed to be setting. 

This habit of returning regularly at the same time is men- 
tioned by Mr Tristram in his " Land of Israel : " — 

"Of all the birds of Jerusalem, the raven is decidedly the 
most characteristic and conspicuous. It is present everywhere 
to eye and ear, and the odours that float around remind us of 
its use. On the evening of our arrival we were perplexed by 
a call-note, quite new to us, mingling with the old familiar 
croak, and soon ascertained that there must be a second species 
of raven along with the common Corvus cor ax. This was the 
African species {Corvus umbrinus, Hed.), the ashy-necked raven, 
a little smaller than the world-wide raven, and here more 
abundant in individuals. 

" Beside these, the rook (Corvus agricola, Trist.), the common 
grey, or hooded crow {Corvus comix, L.), and the jackdaw 
(Corvus monedula, L.), roost by hundreds in the sanctuary. We 
used to watch them in long lines passing over our tents every 
morning at daybreak, and returning in the evening, the rooks in 
solid phalanx leading the way, and the ravens in loose order 
bringing up the rear, generally far out of shot. Before retiring 
for the night, popular assemblies of the most uproarious cha- 
racter were held together in the trees of the Kedron and Mount 
Olivet, and not until sunset did they withdraw in silence, 
mingled indiscriminately, to their roosting-places on the walls. 

"My companions were very anxious to obtain specimens of 
these Jerusalem birds, which could only be approached as they 
settled for the night ; but we were warned by the Consul that 
shooting them so close to the mosque might be deeuied a sacrilege 
by the Moslems, and provoke an attack by the guardians of the 
Haram and the boys of the neighbourhood. They finally deter- 
mined, nevertheless, to run the risk ; and stationing themselves 
just before sunset in convenient hiding-places near the walls, at 
a given signal they fired simultaneously, and, hastily gathering 
up the spoils, had retreated out of reach, and were hurrying to 
the tents before an alarm could be raised. The discharge of ten 
barrels had obtained fourteen specimens, comprising five species. 



448 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" The same manoeuvre was repeated with equal success on 
another evening ; but on the third occasion the ravens had 
learned wisdom by experience, and, sweeping round Siloam, 
chose another route to their dormitory." 

Those who have tried to come within gunshot of a Raven, 
even in this country, can appreciate this anecdote, and can 
understand how the Raven would ever afterwards keep clear 
of a spot where the flash and smoke of fire-arms had twice 
appeared. 

An anecdote which authenticates this cautious turn of mind 
in the Raven is given in Mr. Thompson's work on the " Natural 
History of Ireland." There was a large yard in which the 
sparrows used to congregate, and it was a custom of the owner 
to lay a train of corn for the sparrows to eat, and then to rake 
the whole line with a discharge from a gun concealed in an 
outhouse. A tame Raven lived about the premises, and as soon 
as it saw any one carrying a gun towards the fatal outhouse, it 
became much alarmed, and hurried off to hide itself. As soon 
as the gun was fired, out came the Raven from its place of con- 
cealment, pounced on one of the dead sparrows, carried it off, 
and ate it in its private haunt. 

The nest to which the Raven returns with such punctuality 
is placed in some spot where it is safe from ordinary intruders. 
The tops of lofty trees are favoured localities for the nest, and 
so are old towers, the interior of caves, and clefts in lofty pre- 
cipices. The nest is large and clumsy, and the bird, trusting in 
the inaccessible character of the locality, troubles itself very 
little about concealment. The Raven is a peculiarly domestic 
bird, and a pattern of conjugal affection. It pairs for life, and 
both male and female take their share of sitting on the eggs and 
nurturing the young. 

The old writers of whom mention has been made admitted 
that all the Corvidae were signified by the word oreb. Some- 
times they drew a distinction between them, but, as a rule, the 
word oreb might mean any of those birds, from a Raven to 
a starling. 

The Magpie is one of those birds which is separately men- 
tioned. Like the Raven, it was thought to be harsh and cruel 
to its young, so that whenever a man behaved badly to his 



THE RAVEN. 449 

children, either by neglect or by absolute cruelty, he was called 
a Magpie-man by way of derision. Similarly, a man of a morose 
or evil disposition was termed a Eaven-hearted man. As, how- 
ever, the Magpie is not entirely black, but has some white in its 
plumage, it was held to be rather a better bird than the Raven. 
Moreover, it is fond of haunting the habitations of men, so that 
it was held to be of a softer nature than the Eaven, which 
always kept i^-self as far from mankind as possible. 

Lastly, we come to the Starling, which, as I have already 
mentioned, is considered as one of the Eaven tribe, and is ranked 
under the name of Oreb. The old writers had no very great 
opinion of this bird, which they considered as exceptionally 
quarrelsome, probably on account of its shrill, harsh cry. They 
had a curious proverb, " Two Starlings cannot sleep in one bed," 
by which they meant that two quarrelsome people ought not to 
associate together. 

There is a rather curious legend respecting the introduction 
of the Starling into Palestine. 

Many years ago, a strange bird appeared in Jerusalem. It 
was caught, and brought before a celebrated Eabbi for exami- 
nation, in order that he might decide whether it belonged to the 
clean or the unclean birds. After examining it, he could not 
make up his mind to either side of the question, and left the 
disputed point to be settled in a different way. 

He ordered the bird to be placed on the roof of a house, and 
to be carefully watched, in order that the birds which associated 
with it might be noticed. For some time no birds of any kind 
would recognise the stranger, until at last there came a Eaven 
from Egypt, which claimed acquaintance with it. In conse- 
quence of this, the Starling was ever afterwards classed with the 
Eaven, and considered as an unclean bird. The Egyptian Eaven 
which is here mentioned is described as being a very small bird, 
scarcely larger, indeed, than the Starling itself. 



30 



450 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE OSTRICH. 



Hebrew words designating the Ostrich — Description of the bird in the Book of Job 
— Ancient use of Ostrich plumes — Supposed heedlessness of eggs and young — 
Mode of depositing the eggs — Hatching them in the sand — Natural enemies 
of the Ostrich — Anecdote of Ostriches and their young — Alleged stupidity of 
the Ostrich — Methods of hunting and snaring the bird — The Ostrich in 
domestication— Speed of the Ostrich — The flesh of the bird prohibited to the 
Jews — Ostrich eggs and their uses — Food of the Ostrich — Mode of drinking— 
Cry of the Ostrich, and reference made to it in Micah. 



There is rather a peculiarity about the manner in which this 
bird is mentioned in the Authorized Version of the Scriptures, 
and, unless we go to the original Hebrew, we shall be greatly 
misled. In that version the Ostrich is mentioned only three 
times, but in the Hebrew it occurs eight times. If the reader 
will refer to page 370, he will see that the Hebrew word bath- 
hayanah, which is translated in the Authorized Version as " owl," 
ought really to be rendered as "Ostrich." Taking this to be the 
case, we find that there are several passages in the Scriptures 
in which the word has been used in the wrong sense, and that 
in those places, instead of rendering the word as " owl," we 
ought to read it as " Ostrich." 

The first mention of this bird occurs in Lev. xi. 16, and the 
parallel passage of Deut. xiv., in which the Ostrich is reckoned 
among the unclean birds, without any notice being given of its 
appearance or habits. 

In the Book of Job, however, we have the Ostrich mentioned 
with that preciseness and fulness of description which is so 
often the case when the writer of that wonderful poem treats 
of living creatures. 

" Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks ? or wings 
and feathers unto the ostrich ? 

" Who leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in 
the dust, 



THE OSTRICH. 451 

" And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the 
wild beast may break them. 

" She is hardened against her young ones, as though they 
were not hers : her labour is in vain without fear ; 

" Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath He 
imparted to her understanding. 

11 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the 
horse and his rider." (Job xxxix. 13 — 19.) 

There is rather a peculiarity in the translation of this passage, 
wherein the word which has been translated as " peacock " is 
now allowed to be properly rendered as " Ostrich," while the 
word which is translated as "Ostrich " ought to have been given 
as " feathers." The marginal translation gives the last words of 
ver. 13 in a rather different manner, and renders it thus : — 
" Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks, or the feathers 
of the stork and ostrich ? " The Hebrew Bible renders the next 
verses as follows : — 

" She would yet leave her eggs on the earth, and warm them 
in dust ; and forget that the foot may crush them, or that the 
beast of the field may break them. 

" She is hardened against her young ones, for those not hers ; 
being careless, her labour is in vain." 

In the same Book, chap, xxx., is another passage wherein this 
bird is mentioned. " I went mourning without the sun : I stood 
up, and I cried in the congregation. 

"I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls," or 
Ostriches, in the marginal and correct reading. The Jewish 
Bible also translates the word as Ostriches, but the word which 
the Authorized Version renders as " dragons " it translates as 
"jackals." Of this point we shall have something to say on a 
future page. A somewhat similar passage occurs in Isa. xliii. 
20 : " The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and 
the owls" (Ostriches in marginal reading), "because I give 
waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink 
to My people, My chosen." The Jewish Bible retains the same 
reading, except that the word " dragons " is given with the mark 
of doubt. 

Accepting, therefore, the rendering of the Hebrew as Ostriches, 
let us see how far the passages of Scripture agree with the 
appearance and habits of the bird. 



452 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Here I may observe that, although in the Scriptures frequent 
allusions are made to the habits of animals, we are not to look 
for scientific exactness to the Scriptures. Among much that is 
strictly and completely true, there are occasional errors, to which 
a most needless attention has been drawn by a certain school of 
critics, who point to them as invalidating the truth of Scripture 
in general. The real fact is, that they have no bearing whatever 
on the truth or falsehood of the Scriptural teachings. 

The Scriptures were written at various times, for instruc- 
tion in spiritual and not in temporal matters, and were never 
intended for scientific treatises on astronomy, mathematics, 
zoology, or any such branch of knowledge. The references 
which are made to the last-mentioned subject are in no case of 
a scientific nature, but are always employed by way of metaphor 
or simile, as the reader must have seen in the previous pages. No 
point of doctrine is taught by them, and none depends on them. 

The Spirit which conveyed religious instruction to the people 
could only use the means that existed, and could no more employ 
the scientific knowledge of the present time than use as meta- 
phors the dress, arms, and inventions of the present day. The 
Scriptures were written in Eastern lands for Orientals by 
Orientals, and were consequently adapted to Oriental ideas ; and 
it would be as absurd to look for scientific zoology in the writings 
of an ancient Oriental, as for descriptions of the printing- 
press, the steam-engine, the photographic camera, or the electric 
telegraph. 

So, when we remember that only a few years ago the real 
history of the Ostrich was unknown to those who had made 
zoology the study of their lives, we cannot wonder that it was 
also unknown to those who lived many centuries ago, and who 
had not the least idea of zoology, or any kindred science. 

Still, even with these drawbacks, it is wonderful how accurate 
in many instances were the writers of the Scriptures, and the 
more so when we remember the character of the Oriental mind, 
with its love of metaphor, its disregard of arithmetical pre- 
cision, and its poetical style of thought. 

We will now take the passage in Job xxxix. In ver. 13 
reference is made to the wings and feathers of the Ostrich. If 
the reader will refer to page 260, he will see that the feathers of 
the Ostrich were formerly used as the emblem of rank. In this 



THE OSTRICH. 453 

case, they are shown as fastened to the heads of the horses, and 
also in the form of a plume, fixed to the end of a staff, and 
appended to a chariot, as emblematical of the princely rank of 
the occupier. In the ancient Egyptian monuments these Ostrich 
plumes are repeatedly shown, and in every case denote very high 
rank. These plumes were therefore held in high estimation at 
the time in which the Book of Job was written, and it is 
evidently in allusion to this fact that the sacred writer has 
mentioned so prominently the white plumes of the Ostrich. 

Passing the next portion of the description, we find that the 
Ostrich is mentioned as a bird that is careless of its eggs, and 
leaves them " in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and 
forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast 
may break them." 

Now it is true that the Ostrich is often known to take the 
greatest care of its eggs, the male collecting and sitting on 
them, and watching them with loving assiduity, and by some 
persons this fact has been brought forward as a proof that the 
writer of the Book of Job was mistaken in his statements. A 
further acquaintance with the habits of the bird tells us, how- 
ever, that in those parts of the world which were known to the 
writer of that book the Ostrich does behave in precisely the 
manner which is described by the sacred writer. 

Several females lay their eggs in the same nest, if the title of 
nest can be rightly applied to a mere hollow scooped in the 
sand, and, at least during the daytime, when the sun is shining, 
they simply cover the eggs with sand, so as to conceal them from 
ordinary enemies, and leave them to be hatched by the warm 
sunbeams. They are buried to the depth of about a foot, so 
that they receive the benefit of a tolerably equable warmth. So 
much, then, for the assertion that the Ostrich leaves her eggs 
" in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust." 

We next come to the statement that she forgets that " the foot 
may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them." It is 
evident from the preceding description that eggs which are 
buried a foot deep in the sand could not be crushed by the foot, 
even were they of a fragile character, instead of being defended 
by a shell as thick, and nearly as hard, as an ordinary earthen- 
ware plate Neither would the wild beast be likely to discovei 
much less to break them. 



454 



BIBLK ANIMALS. 



A more intimate acquaintance with the history of the Ostrich 
shows that, even in this particular, the sacred writer was per- 
fectly correct. Besides the eggs which are intended to be 
hatched, and which are hidden beneath the sand to be hatched, 




OSTEICII AND IS EST. 

VTkv leaveih hrr egg* in the earth, «nd wmrmeth them in the dust."— Jon xxxix. 14 



a number of supplementary eggs are laid which are not meant 
to be hatched, and are evidently intended as food for the young 
until they are able to forage for themselves. These are left 
carelessly on the surface of the ground, and may easily be 
crushed by the hoof of a horse, if not by the foot of man. We 
meet, however, with another statement,— namely, that they may 
be broken by the wild beasts. Here we have reference to 
another fact in the history of the Ostrich. The scattered eggs, 



THE OSTRICH. 455 

to which allusion is made, are often eaten, not only by beasts, 
but also by birds of prey ; the former breaking the shells by 
knocking them against each other, and the latter by picking up 
large stones in their claws, rising above the eggs, and dropping 
the stones on them. The bird would like to seize the egg, rise 
with it in the air, and drop it on a stone, as mentioned on page 
337, but the round, smooth surface of the egg defies the grasp of 
talons, and, instead of dropping the egg upon a stone, it is 
obliged to drop a stone upon the egg. 

Up to the present point, therefore, the writer of the Book of 
Job is shown to be perfectly correct in his statements. We 
will now proceed to verse 16 : " She is hardened against her 
young ones, as though they were not hers." Now in the Jewish 
Bible, the passage is rendered rather differently : " She is har- 
dened against her young ones ; for those not hers ; " and, as we 
shall presently see, the reading perfectly agrees with the character 
of the Ostrich. 

There has long existed a belief that the Ostrich, contrary to 
the character of all other birds, is careless of her young, neglects 
them, and is even cruel to them. That this notion was shared 
by the writer of the Book of Job is evident from the preceding 
passage. It also prevailed for at least a thousand years after 
the Book of Job was written. See Lam. iv. 3 : "Even the sea 
monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young 
ones : the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the 
ostriches in the wilderness." 

It is probable that this idea respecting the cruelty of the 
Ostrich towards its young is derived from the fact that if a flock 
of Ostriches be chased, and among them there be some very 
young birds, the latter are left behind by their parents, and fall 
a prey to the hunters. But, in reality, the Ostrich has no choice 
in the matter. The wide sandy desert affords no place of con- 
cealment in which it might hide its young. Nature has not 
furnished it with weapons by means of which it can fight for 
them ; and consequently it is forced to use the only means of 
escape by which it can avoid sacrificing its own life, as well as 
the lives of the young. 

It does not, however, leave the young until it has tried, by all 
means in its power, to save them. For example, it sometimes 
has recourse to the manoeuvre with which we are so familiar in 



456 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the case of the lapwing, and pretends to be wounded or lamed, 
in order to draw the attention of its pursuers, while its young 
escape in another direction. An instance of this practice is 
given by Mr. Andersson in his " Lake ISTgami." " When we had 
proceeded little more than half the distance, and in a part of the 
plain entirely destitute of vegetation, we discovered a male and 
female ostrich, with a brood of young ones, about the size of 
ordinary barn-door fowls. We forthwith dismounted from our 
oxen, and gave chase, which proved of no ordinary interest. 

" The moment the parent birds became aware of our intention, 
they set off at full speed — the female leading the way, and the 
cock, though at some little distance, bringing up the rear of the 
family party. It was very touching to observe the anxiety the 
birds evinced for the safety of their progeny. Finding that we 
were quickly gaining upon them, the male at once slackened his 
pace and diverged somewhat from his course ; but, seeing that we 
were not to be diverted from our purpose, he again increased his 
speed, and, with wings drooping so as almost to touch the ground, 
he hovered round us, now in wide circles, and then decreasing 
the circumference until he came almost within pistol-shot, when 
he abruptly threw himself on the ground, and struggled despe- 
rately to regain his legs, as it appeared, like a bird that has been 
badly wounded. 

" Having previously fired at him, I really thought he was dis- 
abled, and made quickly towards him. But this was only a 
ruse on his part, for, on my nearer approach, he slowly rose, and 
began to run in a different direction to that of the female, who 
by this time was considerably ahead with her charge." Nor is 
this a solitary instance of the care which the Ostrich will take of 
her young. Thunberg mentions that on one occasion, when he 
happened to ride near a place where an Ostrich was sitting on 
the eggs, the bird jumped up and pursued him, evidently with 
the object of distracting his attention from the eggs. When he 
faced her, she retreated ; but as soon as he turned his horse, she 
pursued him afresh. 

The care of the mother for the young is perhaps less needed 
with the Ostrich than with most birds. The young are able to 
run with such speed that ordinary animals are not able to over- 
take them, and, besides, they are protected by their colour as 
long as they are comparatively helpless. Their downy plumage 



THE OSTRICH. 457 

harmonizes completely with the sandy and stony ground, even 
when they run, and when they crouch to the earth, as is their 
manner when alarmed, even the most practised eye can scarcely 
see them. Mr. Andersson, an experienced hunter, states that 
when the Ostrich chicks were crouching almost under his feet, 
he had the greatest difficulty in distinguishing their forms. 

Owing to the great number of the eggs that are laid, the young 
are often very numerous, between thirty and forty chicks some- 
times belonging to one brood. In the Ostrich chase which has 
already been described, the brood were eighteen in number, and 
so great was their speed that, in spite of their youth and diminu- 
tive size, Mr. Andersson only succeeded in capturing nine of 
them after an hour's severe chase. 

We find, therefore, that we must acquit the Ostrich of neglect- 
ing its young, much more of cruelty towards them ; and we will 
now turn to the next charge against the bird, that of stupidity. 

In one sense, the bird certainly may be considered stupid. 
Like nearly all wild creatures which live on large plains, it 
always runs against the wind, so as to perceive by scent if any 
enemies are approaching. Its nostrils are very sensitive, and 
can detect a human being at a very great distance. So fastidious 
is it in this respect, that no hunter who knows his business ever 
attempts to approach the Ostrich except from leeward. If a 
nest is found, and the discoverer wishes the birds to continue 
laying in it. he approaches on the leeward side, and rakes out 
the eggs with a long stick. 

The little Bosjesman, who kills so many of these birds with 
his tiny bow and arrow, makes use of this instinct when he goes 
to shoot the Ostrich, disguised in a skin of one of the birds. 
Should an Ostrich attack him, as is sometimes the case, he only 
shifts his position to windward, so as to allow the birds to catch 
the scent of a human being, when they instantly make off in 
terror. 

When, therefore, the Ostriches are alarmed, they always run 
to windward, instinctively knowing tnat, if an enemy should 
approach in that direction, their powers of scent will inform 
them of the danger. Being aware of this habit, the hunters 
manage so that while one of them goes round by a long detour 
to frighten the game, the others are in waiting at a considerable 
distance to windward, but well on one side, so that no indication 



458 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of their presence may reach the sensitive nostrils of the birds. 
As soon as the concealed hunters see the Ostriches fairly settled 
down to their course, they dash off at right angles to the line 
which the birds are taking, and in this way come near enough 
to use their weapons. The antelopes of the same country have 
a similar instinct, and are hunted in precisely the same manner. 

Thus, then, in one sense the Ostrich may be considered as 
open to the charge of stupidity, inasmuch as it pursues a course 
which can be anticipated by enemies who would otherwise be 
unable to overtake it. But it must be remembered that instinct 
cannot be expected to prove a match for reason, and that, 
although its human enemies are able to overreach it, no others 
can do so, the instinct of running against the wind serving to 
guard it from any foe which it is likely to meet in the desert. 

When captured alive and tamed, it certainly displays no par- 
ticular amount of intellect. The Arabs often keep tame Ostriches 
about their tents, the birds being as much accustomed to their 
quarters as the horses. In all probability they did so in ancient 
times, and the author of the Book of Job was likely to be 
familiar with tame Ostriches, as well as with the wild bird. 

Stupidity is probably attributed to the tame bird in conse- 
quence of the habit possessed by the Ostrich of picking up and 
eating substances which cannot be used as food. For example, 
it will eat knives, bits of bone or metal, and has even been 
known to swallow bullets hot from the mould. On dissecting 
the digestive organs of an Ostrich, I have found a large quantity 
of stones, pieces of brick, and scraps of wood. These articles 
are, however, not intended to serve as food, but simply to aid 
digestion, and the bird eats them just as domestic fowls pick up 
gravel, and smaller birds grains of sand. In swallowing them, 
therefore, the Ostrich does not display any stupidity, but merely 
obeys a natural instinct. 

Lastly, we come to the speed of the Ostrich : " What time 
she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his 
rider." 

This statement is literally true. When the Ostrich puts forth 
its full speed, there is no horse that can catch it in a fair chase. 
It may be killed by the ruse which has already been described, 
but an adult Ostrich can run away from the swiftest horse. 
When it runs at full speed, it moves its long legs with astonishing 



THE OSTRICH. 459 

rapidity, covering at each stride an average of twenty-four 
feet, a fact from which its rate of speed may be deduced. In 
consequence of this width of stride, and the small impression 
made in the sand by the two-toed foot, the track of a running 
Ostrich is very obscure. Perhaps no bettei proof of the swift- 
ness of the bird can be given than the extreme value set upon 
it by the Arabs. Although they are bred to the desert as much 
as the Ostrich itself, and are mounted on horses whose swiftness 
and endurance are proverbial, they set a very high value on the 
Ostrich, and to have captured one of these birds establishes an 
Arab's fame as a hunter. 

Sometimes the Arabs employ the plan of cutting across the 
course of the bird, but at others they pursue it in fair chase, 
training their horses and themselves specially for the occasion. 
They furnish themselves with a supply of water, and then start 
in pursuit of the first flock of Ostriches they find. They take 
care not to alarm the birds, lest they should put out their full 
speed and run away out of sight, but just keep sufficiently near 
to force the birds to be continually on the move. They will 
sometimes continue this chase for several days, not allowing 
their game time to eat or rest, until at last it is so tired that it 
yields itself an easy prey. 

In Southern Africa, snares are used for taking the Ostrich. 
They are in fact ordinary springes, but of strength suitable to the 
size of the bird. The cord is made fast to a sapling, which is 
bent down by main strength, and the other end is then formed 
into a noose and fastened down with a trigger. Sometimes the 
bird is enticed towards the snare by means of a bait, and some- 
times it is driven over it by the huntsmen. In either case, as 
soon as the Ostrich puts its foot within the fatal noose, the 
trigger is loosed, the sapling is released, and, with a violent jerk, 
the Ostrich is caught by the leg and suspended in the air. 

Why the flesh of the Ostrich should have been prohibited to 
the Jews is rather a mystery. It is much valued by most 
natives, though some of the Arab tribes still adhere to the 
Jewish prohibition, and those Europeans who have tried it pro- 
nounce it to be excellent when the bird is young and tender, but 
to be unpleasantly tough when it is old. Mr. Andersson says 
that its flesh resembles that of the zebra, and mentions that the 
fat and blood are in great request, being mixed together by 



460 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

cutting the throat of the bird, passing a ligature round the neck 
just below the incision, and then shaking and dragging the bird 
about for some time. Nearly twenty pounds of this substance 
are obtained from a single Ostrich. 

The ancient Eomans valued exceedingly the flesh of this bird. 
We are told that Heliogabalus once had a dish served at his 
table containing six hundred Ostrich brains, and that another 
emperor ate a whole Ostrich at a meal. As an adult Ostrich 
weighs some twenty-five stone, we may presume that the bird in 
question was a young one. 

The eggs are most valuable articles of food, both on account of 
their excellent flavour and their enormous size. It is calculated 
that one Ostrich egg contains as much as twenty-five ordinary 
hen's eggs. Cooking the Ostrich egg is easily performed. A 
hole is made in the upper part of the egg, and the lower end is 
set on the fire. A forked stick is then introduced into the egg, 
and twirled between the hands, so as to beat up the whole of 
the interior. Europeans usually add pepper and salt, and 
say that this simple mode of cooking produces an excellent 
omelette. 

The ordinary food of the Ostrich consists of the seeds, buds, 
and tops of various plants. It seems strange, however, that in 
the deserts, where there is so little vegetation, the bird should be 
able to procure sufficient food to maintain its enormous body. 
Each of the specimens which are kept at the Zoological Gardens 
eats on an average a pint of barley, the same quantity of oats, 
four pounds' weight of cabbage, and half a gallon of chaff, 
beside the buns, bread, and other articles of food which are 
given to them by visitors. 

Although the Ostrich, like many other inhabitants of the 
desert, can live for a long time without water, yet it is forced to 
drink, and like the camel, which it resembles in so many of its 
ways, drinks enormously, taking in the water by a succession 
of gulps. When the weather has been exceptionally hot, the 
Ostrich visits the water-springs daily, and is so occupied in 
quenching its thirst that it will allow the hunter to come within 
a very short distance. It appears, indeed, to be almost intoxi- 
cated with its draught, and, even when it does take the alarm, it 
only retreats step by step, instead of scudding off with its 
usually rapid strides. 






THE OSTRICH. 4G1 

The camel-like appearance of the Ostrich has already been 
mentioned. In the Arabic language the Ostrich is called by a 
name which signifies camel-bird, and many of the people have 
an idea that it was originally a cross between a bird and a 
camel. 

The cry of the Ostrich is a deep bellow, which, according to 
travellers in Southern Africa, so resembles the roar of the lion 
that even the practised ears of the natives can scarcely distin- 
guish the roar of the animal from the cry of the bird. The re- 
semblance is increased by the fact that both the lion and Ostrich 
utter their cry by night. It is evidently to this cry that the 
prophet Micah alludes : " Therefore I will wail and howl, I 
will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the 
dragons, and mourning as the owls " (Ostriches in marginal read- 
ing). The cry of the variety of Ostrich which inhabits Northern 
ALfrica is said to bear more resemblance to the lowing of an ox 
than the roar of the lion ; but as the bird is smaller than its 
southern relative, the difference is probably accounted for. 
• It has been mentioned that the Ostrich has no weapons 
wherewith to fight for its young ; still, though it be destitute of 
actual weapons, such as the spur of the gamecock or the beak 
and talons of the eagle, it is not entirely defenceless. Its long 
and powerful legs can be employed as weapons, and it can kick 
with such force that a man would go down before the blow, and 
probably, if struck on the leg or arm, have the limb broken. 
The blow is never delivered backward, as is the kick of the 
horse, but forward, like that of the kangaroo. The natives of 
the countries where it resides say that it is able to kill by its kick 
the jackal that comes to steal its eggs, and that even the hyaena 
and the leopard are repelled by the gigantic bird. 



462 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE BITTERN. 

Signification of the word Kippod — The Bittern and its general appearance — The 
bird of solitude — Difficulty of detecting the Bittern in its haunts— Mudie's 
description of the Bittern and its home — The strange cry of the bird— Super- 
stitions connected with it — The Night-raven — Nest of the Bittern— Scarcity 
of the bird at the present day — Food of the Bittern— The bird formerly brought 
to table. 

In the account of the hedgehog, page 80, it has been mentioned 
that the Hebrew word Kippod, which has been rendered in the 
Authorized Version as " Bittern," is in all probability the Syrian 
hedgehog, and that the Jewish Bible accepts that rendering 
without even affixing the mark of doubt to the word. As, 
however, some writers on the subject still adhere to the more 
familiar rendering, a short account will be given of the Bittern 
(Botauris stellaris). 

The Bittern belongs to the same family as the herons, the 
cranes, and the storks, and has many of the habits common to 
them all. It is, however, essentially a bird of solitude, hating 
the vicinity of man, and living in the most retired spots of 
marshy ground. As it sits among the reeds and rushes, though 
it is a large bird, it is scarcely visible even to a practised eye, its 
mottled plumage harmonizing with surrounding objects in such a 
way that the feathers of the bird can scarcely be distinguished 
from the sticks, stones, and grass tufts among which io sits. The 
ground colour of the plumage is dark buff, upon which are 
sprinkled mottlings and streaks of black, chestnut, grey, and 
brown. These mottled marks harmonize with the stones and 
tufts of withered grass, while the longitudinal dashes of buff 
and black on the neck and breast correspond with the sticks and 
reeds. 

In a similar manner the tiger, though so large an animal, can 
lie in a very small covert of reeds without being detected, its 
striped fur corresponding with the reeds themselves and the 
shadows thrown by them ; and the leopard can remain hidden 



THE BITTERN. 



463 



among the boughs of a tree, its spotted coat harmonizing with 
the broken light and shade of the foliage. 

The following powerful description of the Bittern's home is 
given by Mudie : " It is a bird of rude nature, where the land 
knows no character save that which the untrained, working of 
the elements impresses upon it ; so that when any locality is in 




THE BITTEBX 

I will ateo make U a possession for the bittern, and pools for water." — Isa riv. 



the course of being won to usefulness, the bittern is the first to 
depart, and when any one is abandoned, it is the last to return. 
' The bittern shall dwell there ' is the final curse, and implies 
that the place is to become uninhabited and uninhabitable. It 
hears not the whistle of the ploughman, nor the sound of the 
mattock ; and the tinkle of the sheep-bell, or the lowing of the 
ox 'although the latter bears so much resemblance to its own 



464 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

hollow and dismal voice, that it has given foundation to the 
name), is a signal for it to be gone. 

" Extensive and dingy pools — if moderately upland, so much 
the better — which lie in the hollows, catching, like so many 
traps, the lighter and more fertile mould which the rains wash 
and the winds blow from the naked heights around, and con- 
verting it into harsh and dingy vegetation, and the pasture of 
those loathsome things which wriggle in the ooze, or crawl and 
swim in the putrid and mantling waters, are the habitation of 
the bittern. 

" Places which scatter blight and mildew over every herb 
which is more delicate than a sedge, a carex, or a rush, and 
consume every wooded plant that is taller than the sapless and 
tasteless cranberry or the weeping upland willow ; which shed 
murrain over the quadrupeds, chills which eat the flesh off their 
bones, and which, if man ventures there, consume him by putrid 
fever in the hot and dry season, and shake him to pieces with 
ague when 'the weather is cold and humid. 

" Places from which the heath and the lichen stand aloof, and 
where even the raven, lover of disease, and battener upon all 
that expires miserably and exhausted, comes rarely and with 
more than wonted caution, lest that death which he comes to 
seal and riot upon in others should unawares come upon him- 
self. The raven loves carrion on the dry and unpoisoning moor 
scents it from afar, and hastens to it upon his best and boldest 
wing ; but ' the reek o' the rotten fen ' is loathsome to the sense 
of even the raven, and it is hunger's last pinch ere he come nigh 
to the chosen habitation, the only loved abode, of the bittern." 

Secure in its retreat, the Bittern keeps its place even if a 
sportsman should pass by the spot on which it crouches. It 
will not be tempted to leave its retreat by noise, or even by stone 
throwing, for it knows instinctively that the quaking bogland 
which it selects as its home is unsafe for the step of man. 

The very cry of the Bittern adds to this atmosphere of deso- 
lation. By day the bird is silent, but after the sun has gone 
down it utters its strange wild cry, a sound which exactly suits 
the localities in which it loves to make its habitation. During 
part of the year it only emits a sharp, harsh cry as it rises on 
the wing, but during the breeding season it utters the cry by 
which it summons its mate, one of the strangest love-calls that 



THE BITTERN. 465 

can be imagined. It is something between the neighing of a 
horse, the bellow of a bull, and a shriek of savage laughter. It 
is very loud and deep, so that it seems to shake the loose and 
marshy ground. There was formerly an idea that, when the 
Bittern uttered this booming cry, it thrust its bill into the soft 
ground, and so caused it to shake. In reality, the cry is uttered 
on the wing, the bird wheeling in a spiral flight, and modulating 
its voice in accordance with the curves which it describes in 
the air. This strange sound is only uttered by the male bird. 

In every country inhabited by the Bittern we find that its 
deep sepulchral cry, booming out through the darkness, and 
heard at an immense distance, has been dreaded as the prophecy 
of some evil to come. In some parts both of England and Ire- 
land it is known as the Night-raven, and under that title is held 
in the greatest fear. Allusion is made to this belief in the well- 
known passage from Middleton's " Witch " :— 

" At the Night-raven's dismal voice, 
When others tremble, we rejoice ; 
And nimbly, nimbly, dance we still 
To the echoes of a hollow hill. " 

Under the same title Goldsmith writes of it in his "Animated 
Nature." " I remember, in the place where I was a boy, with 
what terror the bird's note affected the whole village, — they 
considered it as the presage of some sad event, and generally 
found or made one to succeed it. I do not speak ludicrously, 
but if any person in the neighbourhood died, they supposed it 
could not be otherwise, for the night-raven had foretold it ; but 
if nobody happened to die, the death of a cow or a sheep gave 
completion of the prophecy." 

In some parts of England the Bittern is known by the odd 
title of Butter-bump, a fact which was mentioned in the Zoolo- 
gist many years ago : — 

" There'll either be rain, or else summat waur, 
When Butter-bump sings upo' Potterie car." 

About Fermanagh, in Ireland, the Bittern is called Bog-bluiter, 
i.e. Bog-bleater, just as the snipe is termed the Heather-bluiter. 

Like most of the long-legged wading birds, the Bittern is able 
to change its shape, and apparently to alter its size, in an asto- 
nishing manner. When it is walking over the ground, with 
31 



466 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

head erect and eye glanced vigilantly at surrounding objects, it 
looks a large, bold, vigorous, and active bird. Next minute it 
will sink its bead in its shoulders, so that the long beak seems to 
project from them, and the neck totally disappears, the feathers 
enveloping each other as perfectly and smoothly as if it never 
had had a neck. In this attitude it will stand for an hour at a 
time on one leg, with the other drawn close to its body, looking 
as dull, inert, and sluggish a bird as can well be imagined, and 
reduced apparently to one half of its former size. The Bittern 
is represented in one of its extraordinary attitudes on the plate 
which illustrates the cormorant. 

The nest of the Bittern is placed on the ground, and near the 
water, though the bird always takes care to build it on an 
elevated spot which will not be flooded if the water should rise 
by reason of a severe rain. There is, however, but little reason 
for the Bittern to fear a flood, as at the time of year which is 
chosen for nest-building the floods are generally out, and the 
water higher than is likely to be the case for the rest of the 
year. The materials of the nest are found in marshes, and 
consist of leaves, reeds, and rushes. 

It will be seen from the foregoing account, that if the word 
Kippod be translated as " Bittern," the imagery connected with 
it holds good, and that no more powerful figure could be 
imagined for the desolation of Babylon than the prophecy, " I 
will make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water " 
(Isa. xiv. 23). 

Though once plentiful in England, the Bittern is now very 
scarce, and there are few who have seen it in its native haunts. 
Formerly, when swamps and marshes abounded, the Bittern 
abounded in proportion, but drainage and cultivation and rail- 
ways have fairly driven the Bittern out of the country, and in a 
few years it will be as completely extinct in England as the 
bustard or the eagle. Even the great marshes of Essex are being 
reclaimed and rendered unfit for the occupation of the bird ; and, 
from the upper part of the house where this account is written, 
I can see with the aid of the telescope cornfields, and pasture- 
lands, and barns, and ricks, and roads, diversifying the wide 
expanses which were once covered with brackish water at every 
flow of the tide, and at the ebb only left as quagmires through 
which the foot of man could not pass, and on which grew the 




THE COEMOEANT 

"But the corrnorti.t nnri the bitten shall posses* I u "— Is.v. xxxlv. 11. 



THE BITTERN. 467 

rough and scanty herbage that flourishes under conditions that 
would kill almost any other vegetation. 

No longer can the Bittern find a home there. Deep ditches 
intersect each other at short intervals, into which the moisture 
of the really rich soil is drained, and the water that once stood 
in stagnant pools which the Bittern loved is conducted into 
them, and discharged into the river at the ebb tide. By the 
abstraction of the moisture, the whole country has been lowered 
more than a foot, and, together with the stagnant pools, the 
Bittern has vanished never more to return. And here it may 
be mentioned that, although the Bittern inhabits none but deso- 
late places, it only selects those which contain capabilities of 
cultivation. So, if the boom of the Bittern be heard, it may be 
accepted as deciding two things — firstly, that the ground is 
utterly deserted by man, and uncultivated ; and secondly, that 
it ought to be occupied by him, and brought into cultivation. 

At the present day, the Bittern is very plentiful in the swampy 
grounds which edge the Tigris, just as it used to be in the 
marshes which border the Thames. Should the time come when 
London will have passed away as completely as the great cities 
of old, and the banks of the Thames lie as desolate as those of 
the Tigris, the Bittern will reassume its sway, and its deep 
booming note will again be heard through the stillness of night. 

As if to add to the general effect of its character, it is essen- 
tially a solitary bird, and in this characteristic entirely unlike its 
relatives the heron and the stork, which are peculiarly sociable, 
and love to gather themselves together in multitudes. But the 
Bittern is never found except alone, or at the most accompanied 
for a time by its mate and one or two young ones. 

The localities in which it resides are sufficient evidence of 
the nature of its food. Frogs appear to be its favourite diet, but 
it also feeds on various fish, insects, molluscs, worms, and similar 
creatures. Dull and apathetic as it appears to be, it can display 
sufficient energy to capture tolerably large hsh. Though the 
Bittern is only about two feet in total length, one of these birds 
was killed, in the stomach of which were found one perfect rudd 
eight inches in length and two in depth, together with the re- 
mains of another fish, of a full-grown frog, and of an aquatic 
insect In another instance, a Bittern had contrived to swallow 
an eel as long as itself ; while in many cases the remains of five 



468 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

or six full-grown frogs have been found in the interior of the 
bird, some just swallowed, and others in various stages of 
digestion. 

In former times the Bittern was used as food in England, and 
was considered one of the delicacies of a rich man's table. 
Partly on account of its scarcity, and partly on account of a 
popular prejudice, it is never eaten at the present day, and those 
few specimens which are occasionally exposed for sale are merely 
purchased for the sake of their plumage. The flesh of the 
Bittern justifies the predilection which was formerly exhibited 
for it, as it is tender, well-flavoured, and fat. 



THE HEEON. 

The Heron mentioned as an unclean bird — The Heron used for food in England, 
and considered as a delicacy — Sociable character of the bird, and its mode of 
feeding — Its enormous appetite — How the Heron fights — Ancient falconry — 
Nesting of the Heron — The papyrus marshes and their dangers — Description oi 
the papyrus — Vessels of bulrushes — The Egret and its beautiful plumage — 
Uses of the train feathers. 

The name of the Heron is only mentioned twice in the Scrip- 
tures — namely, in the two parallel passages of Lev. xi. 19 and 
Deut. xiv. 18 ; in both of which places the Heron is ranked 
among the unclean birds that might not be eaten. 

In some of the cases where beasts or birds are prohibited as 
food, the prohibition seems scarcely needed. To us of the 
present day this seems to be the case with the Heron, as it 
is never brought to table. The reason for this disuse of the 
Heron as food is not that it is unlit for the table, but that it 
has become so scarce by the spread of cultivation and house- 
building, that it has been gradually abandoned as a practically 
unattainable article of diet. The flesh of the Heron, like that 
of the bittern, is remarkably excellent, and in the former days, 
when it was comparatively plentiful, and falconry was the ordi- 
nary amusement of the rich, the Heron formed a very important 
dish at every great banquet. 



THE HERON. 

The bird, however, must be eaten when young. A gentleman 
who liked to try experiments for himself in the matter of food, 
found that, if young Herons were properly cooked, they formed 
a most excellent dish, equal, in his opinion, to grouse. Wishing 




Tiih: n situs 



•' These are they wh hh ye shall have in abomination among the fowls 
her kmd "— Deut xi. 13. 19. 



the stork, the heron afta 



to have his own judgment confirmed by that of others, he 
had several of them trussed and dressed like wild geese, and 
served up at table under that name. The guests approved 
greatly of the bird, and compared it to hare, the resemblance 
being further increased by the dark colour of the flesh. There 
was not the slightest fishy flavour about the bird. This, how 
ever, is apt to be found in the older birds, but can be removed 



470 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

by burying them in the earth for several days, just as is done 
with the solan goose and one or two other sea-birds. 

Several species of Heron inhabit Palestine, of which the 
common Heron (Ardea cinerea), with which we are so familiar 
in England, is perhaps the most plentiful ; and it is to this bird 
that the prohibition chiefly extends. But there were several 
other species of the bird, as is implied by the language of the 
law, which prohibited the Heron " after her kind." The Egrets 
are probably included in this category ; and, if the word kip-pod be 
really the hedgehog, it is tolerably certain that the bittern was 
included under the general term Anaphah, which is given in the 
Authorized Version as Heron. The Jewish Bible follows the 
same reading, but affixes the mark of doubt to the word. 

The abundance of birds belonging to the Heron tribe is well 
shown by some of the paintings and carvings on Egyptian 
monuments, in which various species of Herons and other 
water-birds are depicted as living among the papyrus reeds, 
exactly the locality in which they are most plentiful at the 
present day. 

Unlike the bittern, the Heron is a most sociable bird, and 
loves not only to live, but even to feed, in company with others 
of its own species. In Mr. Waterton's grounds, near Walton, 
I have watched the Herons feeding in close proximity to each 
other. The birds were fond of wading stealthily along the edge 
of the lake until they came to a suitable spot, where they would 
stand immersed in the water up to the thighs, waiting patiently 
for their prey. They stood as still as if they were carved out 
of wood, the ripples of the lake reflected on their plumage as 
the breeze ruffled the surface of the water. Suddenly there 
would be a quick dive of the beak, either among the reeds or in 
the water, and each stroke signified that the Heron had caught 
its prey. 

Frogs and small fishes are the usual food of the Heron, though 
it often grapples with larger prey, having been seen to capture 
an eel of considerable size in its beak. Under such circum- 
stances it leaves the water, with the fish in its mouth, and beats 
it violently against a stone so as to kill it. Now and then the 
bird is vanquished in the struggle by the fish, several instances 
being known in which an eel, in its endeavours to escape, has 



THE HERON. 471 

twigted itself so tightly round the neck of the bird that both 
have been found lying dead on the shore. 

In one such case the Heron's beak had struck through the 
eyes of the eel, so that the bird could not disengage itself. In 
another the Heron had tried to swallow an eel which was 
much too large for it, and had been nearly choked by its 
meal. The eel must necessarily have been a very large one, 
as the Heron has a wonderful capacity for devouring fish. Even 
when quite young, it can swallow a fish as large as a herring, 
and when it is full grown it will eat four or five large herrings 
at a meal. 

Now when we remember that an Englishman of average 
appetite finds one herring to form a very sufficient breakfast, 
we can easily imagine what must be the digestive power of a 
bird which, though very inferior to man in point of bulk, can 
eat four times as much at a meal. Even though the fish be 
much larger in diameter than the neck of the bird, the Heron 
can swallow it as easily as a small snake swallows a large 
frog. The neck merely seems to expand as if it were made of 
Indiarubber, the fish slips down, and the bird is ready for 
another. 

Generally the Herons feed after sunset, but I have frequently 
seen them busily engaged in catching their prey in full day- 
light, when the sunbeams were playing in the water so as to 
produce the beautiful rippling effect on the Heron's plumage 
which has already been mentioned. 

The Heron does not restrict itself to fishes or reptiles, but, 
like the bittern, feeds on almost any kind of aquatic animal 
which comes within its reach. When it lives near tidal rivers, 
it feeds largely on the shrimps, prawns, green crabs, and 
various other Crustacea; and when it lives far inland, it still 
makes prey of the fresh-water shrimps, the water-beetles, and 
the boat-flies, and similar aquatic creatures. In fact, it acts 
much after the fashion of the lions, tigers, and leopards, 
which put up with locusts and beetles when they can find no 
larger prey. 

The long beak of the Heron is not merely an instrument by 
which it can obtain food, but is also a weapon of considerable 
power. When attacked, it aims a blow at the eye of its oppo- 
nent, and makes the stroke with such rapidity that the foe is 



472 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

generally blinded before perceiving the danger. When domes- 
ticated, it has been known to keep possession of the enclosure in 
which it lived, and soon to drive away dogs by the power of its 
beak. When it is young, it is quite helpless, its very long legs 
being unable to support its body, which is entirely bare of 
plumage, and has a very unprepossessing appearance. 

The flight of the Heron is very powerful, its wings being very 
large in proportion to its slender body. Sometimes the bird 
takes to ascending in a spiral line, and then the flight is as 
beautiful as it is strong. When chased by the falcon it mostly 
ascends in this manner, each of the two birds trying to rise 
above the other. 

The nest of the Heron is always made on the top of some 
lofty tree, whenever the bird builds in places where trees can be 
found ; and as the bird is an eminently sociable one, a single 
nest is very seldom found, the Heron being as fond of society as 
the rook. In England the heronries are invariably found in 
clumps of trees, the nests of the birds being quite close 
together. In some parts of Palestine, however, where trees are 
very scarce, the Heron is obliged to choose some other locality for 
its nest, and in that case prefers the great thickets of papyrus 
reeds which are found in the marshes, and which are even more 
inaccessible than the tops of trees. 

One of these marshes is well described by Mr. Tristram in his 
u Land of Israel." " The whole marsh is marked in the map as 
impassable ; and most truly it is so. I never anywhere have met 
with a swamp so vast and utterly impenetrable. First there is 
an ordinary bog, which takes one up to one's knees in water ; 
then, after half a mile, a belt of deeper swamp, where the yellow 
water lily (Nuphar lutea) flourishes ; then a belt of tall reeds ; 
the open water covered with white water-lily {Nymplma alba) ; 
and beyond again an impenetrable wilderness of papyrus 
{Papyrus antiquorum) , in the beautiful forest of which Dr. 
Thomson has not recognised the celebrated material of Egypt, 
though he has well described it under its Arabic name, ' babeer ' 
(" Land and Book," 259). 

" The papyrus extends right across to the east side. A false 
step off its roots will take the intruder over head in suffocating 
peat-mud. We spent a long time in attempting to effect an 
entrance, and at last gave it up, satisfied that the marsh birds 



THE HERON. 473 

were not to be had. In fact, the whole is simply a floating bog of 
several miles square ; a very thin crust of vegetation covers an 
unknown depth of water ; and, if the explorer breaks through 
this, suffocation is imminent. Some of the Arabs, who were 
tilling the plain for cotton, assured us that even a wild boar 
never got through it. We shot two bitterns, but in endeavouring 
to retrieve them I slipped from the root on which I was stand- 
ing, and was drawn down in a moment, only saving myself from 
drowning by my gun, which had providentially caught across a 
papyrus stem." 

It may here be mentioned that the bulrush of Scripture is 
undoubtedly the papyrus. The ark or basket of bulrushes, lined 
with slime and pitch, in which Moses was laid, was made of 
the papyrus, which at the present day is used for the manufac- 
ture of baskets, mats, sandals, and for the thatching of houses. 
Many tribes which inhabit the banks of the Nile make simple 
boats, or rather rafts, of the papyrus, which they cut and tie in 
bundles ; and it is w T orthy of notice that the Australian native 
makes a reed boat in almost exactly the same manner. 

Compare Is. xviii. 1, 2 : " Woe to the land shadowing with 
wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. 

"That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of 
bulrushes." Did we not know T that vessels are actually made of 
bulrushes at the present day, a custom which has survived from 
very ancient times, we might find a difficulty in understanding 
this passage, while the meaning is intelligible enough Avhen it is 
viewed by the light of the knowledge that the Ethiopian of the 
present day takes gold, and ivory, and other merchandise down 
the Nile in his boat of papyrus (or bulrush) reeds tied together. 

The papyrus runs from ten to fifteen or sixteen feet in height, 
so that the Herons are at no loss for suitable spots whereon to 
place their nests. The name " papyrus," from which our word 
" paper " is derived, is nothing more than a Latinized form of the 
old Arabic name " babeer." It is never found except in muddy 
and swampy places such as those which have already been 
mentioned. Thus we have in Job viii. 11 a reference to this 
quality of the papyrus : " Can the rush grow up without mire ? 
can the flag grow without water ? " 

The Egrets, which are probably included under the generic 
title of Anaphah, are birds of passage, and at the proper season 



474 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

are plentiful in Palestine. These pretty birds much resemble 
the heron in general form, and in general habits both birds are 
very much alike, haunting the marshes and edges of lakes and 
streams, and feeding upon the frogs and other inhabitants of the 
water. In countries where rice is cultivated, the Egret may 
generally be seen in the artificial swamps in which that plant is 
sown. The colour of the Egret is pure white, with the exception 
of the train. This consists of a great number of long slender 
feathers of a delicate straw colour. Like those which form the 
train of the peacock, they fall over the feathers of the tail, and 
entirely conceal them. The train of the Egret is highly valued 
in the East, brushes being made of them wherewith flies can be 
driven away, or delicate articles dusted. As the bird is a very 
shy and wary one, these feathers cannot be easily procured, 
especially as they do not make their appearance until the bird 
has reached its third year, and had time to learn the signs of 
approaching danger. The Egret is rather larger than the heron, 
a full-grown specimen measuring about four feet in length, 
whereas the heron is scarcely more than a yard in total length 
The train-feathers of the Egret add, however, to the apparent size 
of the bird. 



THE CKANE. 

Various passages in which the Crane is mentioned — Its migratory habits, and loua 
voice — Geographical range of the Crane — The bird once plentiful in the fen 
districts of England — Its favourite roosting-places — Size of the Crane, and 
measurement of the wings — The Crane once used as food — Plumes of tne Crane 
and their use — Structure of the vocal organs — Nest and eggs of the Crane. 

In the description of the dove and the swallow two passages 
have been quoted in which the name of the Crane is men- 
tioned, one referring to its voice, and the other to its migratory 
instinct. The first passage occurs in Isa. xxxviii. 14 : " Like a 
crane or swallow, so did I chatter ;" and the other in Jer. viii. 7 : 
" The turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of 
their coming." 



THE CRANE. 



475 



It is rather remarkable that in both these cases the word 
" Crane " is used in connexion with the swallow, or rather the 
swift, and that in both instances the names of the birds should 

If we refer to the original of these 



have been interchanged 




THE CRANF. 

Like a crane . . . so did I chatter.' 1 ' — Isa. xxxviii. .4. 



passages, we shall find that the former of them would run 
thus, " Like a sis or an agur," and the latter thus, " The turtle 
and the sis and the agur" That in these passages the interpre- 
tation of the words sis and agur have been interchanged has 
already been mentioned, and, as the former has been described 
under the name of swallow or swift, we shall now treat of the 
latter under the title of Crane. 



476 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The species here mentioned is the common Crane (Orus 
cinerea), a bird which has a very wide range, and has occasion- 
ally made its appearance in one or two parts of Great Britain. 
In Ireland it is thought to be common, but in that country the 
word Crane is simply a popular misnomer for the heron. As 
is the case with many wild birds, especially those of the 
larger kinds, the Crane appears to have been a much more 
frequent visitor of our shores than can be the case in the 
present day, when the land is thickly populated, and not a 
strange bird can show itself without running the risk of being 
shot. 

As might be imagined, the Cranes favoured the great fen- 
districts of England, especially those of Cambridgeshire and 
Lincolnshire, where it used to be found in large flocks. That 
in those days it bred in England is evident from Acts of Parlia- 
ment in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., in which 
reigns the taking of a Crane's egg was punished with a fine 
of twenty pence, in those days a considerable sum, being 
nearly four times the average daily wages of a working man. 
A small flock of Cranes was seen in Zetland in 1807, but at 
the present time drainage, cultivation, and house-building have 
as effectually extirpated the gregarious Crane as the solitary 
bittern. 

The Crane performs its annual migrations in company, vast 
flocks of many thousand individuals passing like great clouds at 
an immense height, whence their trumpet-like cry is audible for 
a great distance round, and attracts the ear if not the eye to 
them. Thus we have at a glance both the characteristics to 
which reference is made in the Scriptures, namely, the noisy cry 
and the habit of migration. 

It is a very gregarious bird, associating with its comrades in 
flocks, just as do the starlings and rooks of our own country, 
and, like these birds, has favourite roosting-places in which it 
passes the night. When evening approaches, the Cranes may 
be seen in large flocks passing to their roosting-places, and, on 
account of their great size, having a very strange effect. A fair- 
sized Crane will measure seven feet across the expanded wings, 
30 that even a solitary bird has a very imposing effect when 
flying, while that of a large flock of Cranes on the wing is 
simply magnificent. 



THE CRANE. 477 

The spots which the Crane selects for its roosting-places are 
generally of the same character. Being in some respects a wary 
bird, though it is curiously indifferent in others, it will not roost 
in any place near bushes, rocks, or other spots which might 
serve to conceal an enemy. The locality most favoured by the 
Crane is a large, smooth, sloping bank, far from any spot wherein 
an enemy may be concealed. The birds keep a careful watch 
during the night, and it is impossible for any foe to approach 
them without being discovered. The Crane is noisy on the wing, 
and, whether it be soaring high over head on its long migratory 
journeys, or be merely flying at dusk to its roosting-place, it 
continually utters its loud, clangorous cry. 

The food of the Crane is much like that of the heron, but in 
addition to the frogs, fish, worms, and insects, it eats vegetable 
substances. Sometimes it is apt to get into cultivated grounds, 
and then does much damage to the crops, pecking up the 
ground with its long beak, partly for the sake of the worms, 
grubs, and other creatures, and partly for the sake of the 
sprouting seeds. 

Although by reason of its scarcity the Crane has been 
abandoned as food, its flesh is really excellent, and in former 
days was valued very highly, and was looked upon much in the 
same light as grouse or blackcock by ourselves at the present 
day. The two facts, that it was once comparatively plentiful and 
that it was highly valued for the table, are shown by an old 
record of the banquet following the enthronization of an Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, at which two hundred and four Cranes 
were served at table. Even in those days the bird was a very 
valuable one, the average cost exceeding three shillings, so that 
none but the wealthy could indulge in such a luxury. 

Like the egret, the Crane is remarkable for the flowing 
plumes of the back, which fall over the tail feathers, and form 
a train. These feathers are much used as plumes, both for 
purposes of dress and as brushes or flappers wherewith to drive 
off the flies. By reason of this conformation, some systematic 
zoologists have thought that it has some affinity to the ostrich, 
the rhoea, and similar birds, and that the resemblance is 
strengthened by the structure of the digestive organs, which 
are suited to vegetable as well as animal substances, the 
stomach being strong and muscular. 



478 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The peculiar voice of the Crane, which it is so fond of 
using, and to which reference is made in the Scriptures, is 
caused by a peculiar structure of the windpipe, which is exceed- 
ingly long, and, instead of going straight to the lungs, under- 
goes several convolutions about the breast-bone, and then 
proceeds to the lungs. 

The Crane makes its nest on low ground, generally among 
osiers or reeds, and it lays only two eggs, pale olive in colour, 
dashed profusely with black and brown streaks. 



THE STOEK. 

Signification of the Hebrew word Chasidah — Various passages in which it ig 
mentioned — The Chasidah therefore a large, wide-winged, migratoiy bird — Its 
identification with the Stork — Derivation of its Hebrew name — The Stork 
always protected — Uses of the tail — Its mode of quartering the ground in 
search of food — Migratory habits of the Stork — Nesting of the bird, and its 
favourite localities — The fir-trees of Palestine — Love of the Stork for its young. 

In the Old Testament there are several passages wherein i8 
mentioned the word Chasidah. We will take these passages in 
their order. In the first place, we find that the Chasidah is 
enumerated in Lev. xi. 19 among the unclean creatures : " And 
the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the 
bat." The parallel passage in Deut. xiv. 18 has precisely the 
same words. Next we have the passage in Job xxxix. 13 : 
" Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks ? or the 
feathers o the chasidah and ostrich ? " (marginal reading.) Next 
we come to Ps. civ. 16, 17 : " The trees of the Lord are full of 
sap ; the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted. 

" Where the birds make their nests : as for the chasidah, the 
fir-trees are her house." 

Passing to the prophets, we find that Jeremiah uses the same 
word (viii. 7) : " Yea, the chasidah in the heaven knoweth her 
appointed times ; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow 
observe the time of their coming ; but my people know not the 
judgment of the Lord." 



THE STORK. 479 

The last mention of the word occurs in Zech. v. 9 : " Then 
lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out 
two women, and the wind was in their wings ; (for they had 
wings like the wings of a chasidah ;) and they lifted up the 
ephah between the earth and the heaven." 

We learn from these passages that, in the first place, the 
Chasidah was certainly a bird, as it is mentioned in connexion 
with other birds, and is said to have wings and feathers. Our 
next business is to find out what particular bird is meant by the 
Chasidah. It is evident from the passage in Jeremiah that it is 
a migratory bird ; from that in the Psalms, that it builds its nest 
upon a fir-tree ; and from those in Job and Zechariah, that it is a 
large-winged biid. These details very much narrow the question, 
which is still further limited by the fact that we have already 
identified the crane and the heron. 

The Authorized Version invariably renders the word Chasidah 
as " Stork," and is undoubtedly right ; though the Septuagint has 
no less than four different translations, reading it as " heron " in 
one place, " pelican " in another, " hoopoe " in another, and in the 
fourth instance leaving the word untranslated, but Graecized into 
the form of asida. It would have been better if the last-men- 
tioned plan had been followed throughout. 

There is, however, no doubt that the Authorized Version is 
perfectly correct; and it is followed by the Jewish Bible, in 
which no mark of doubt is affixed to the word. 

In Buxtorf's Lexicon there is a curious derivation of the word. 
He says that the word Chasidah is derived from chesed, a word 
that signifies benevolence. This word is used in many familiar 
passages ; such as, " unworthy of all the benefits" " according to 
the multitude of Thy mercies" "■ exercising pity" and so forth. 

According to some writers, the name was given to the Stork 
because it was supposed to be a bird remarkable for its filial 
piety ; " for the storks in their turn support their parents in 
their old age : they allow them to rest their necks on their bodies 
during migration, and, if the elders are tired, the young ones 
take them on their backs." According to others, the name is 
given to the Stork because it exercises kindness towards its 
companions in bringing them food ; but in all cases the deriva- 
tion of the word is acknowledged to be the same. 

Partly in consequence of this idea, which is a very old and 



480 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

almost universal one, and partly on account of the great services 
rendered by the bird in clearing the ground of snakes, insects, 
and garbage, the Stork has always been protected through the 
East, as it is to the present day in several parts of Europe. The 
slaughter of a Stork, or even the destruction of its eggs, would 
be punished with a heavy fine ; and in consequence of the 
immunity which it enjoys, it loves to haunt the habitations 
of mankind. 

In many of the Continental towns, where sanitary regulations 
are not enforced, the Stork serves the purpose of a scavenger, 
and may be seen walking about the market-place, waiting for 
the offal of fish, fowls, and the like, which are simply thrown on 
the ground for the Storks to eat. In Eastern lands the Stork 
enjoys similar privileges, and we may infer that the bird was 
perfectly familiar both to the writers of the various Scriptural 
books in which it was mentioned, and to the people for whom 
these books were intended. 

When they settle upon a tract of ground, the Storks divide it 
among themselves in a manner that seems to have a sort of 
system in it, spreading themselves over it with wonderful regu- 
larity, each bird appearing to take possession of a definite amount 
of ground. By this mode of proceeding, the ground is rapidly 
cleared of all vermin ; the Storks examining their allotted space 
with the keenest scrutiny, and devouring every reptile, mouse, 
worm, grub, or insect that they can find on it. Sometimes they 
will spread themselves in this manner over a vast extent of 
country, arriving suddenly, remaining for several months, and 
departing without giving any sign of their intention to move. 

The wings of the Stork, which are mentioned in Holy Writ, 
are very conspicuous, and are well calculated to strike an imagi- 
native mind. The general colour of the bird is white, while the 
quill feathers of the wings are black ; so that the effect of the 
spread wings is very striking, an adult bird measuring about 
seven feet across, when flying. As the body, large though it 
may be, is comparatively light when compared with the extent 
of wing, the flight is both lofty and sustained, the bird flying a 
very great height, and, when migrating, is literally the " stork in 
the heavens." 

Next we come to the migratory habits of the Stork. 

Like the swallow, the Stork resorts year after year to the same 



THE STORK. 481 

spots ; and when it has once fixed on a locality for its nest, that 
place will be assuredly taken as regularly as the breeding-season 
comes round. The same pair are sure to return to their well- 
known home, notwithstanding the vast distances over which 
they pass, and the many lands in which they sojourn. Should 
one of the pair die, the other finds a mate in a very short time, 
and thus the same home is kept up by successive generations of 
Storks, much as among men one ancestral mansion is inhabited 
by a series of members of the same family. 

So well is this known, that when a pair of Storks have made 
their nest in a human habitation their return is always ex- 
pected, and when they arrive the absentees are welcomed on all 
sides. In many countries breeding-places are specially provided 
for the Storks ; and when one of them is occupied for the first 
time, the owner of the house looks upon it as a fortunate omen. 

The localities chosen by the Stork for its nest vary according 
to the surrounding conditions. The foundation which a Stork 
requires is a firm platform, the more elevated the better, but the 
bird seems to care little whether this platform be on rocks, 
buildings, or trees. If, for example, it builds its nest in craggy 
places, far from the habitations of man, it selects some flat ledge 
for the purpose, preferring those that are at the extreme tops of 
the rocks. The summit of a natural pinnacle is a favourite spot 
with the Stork. 

In many cases the Stork breeds among old ruins, and under 
such circumstances it is fond of building its nest on the tops of 
pillars or towers, the summits of arches, and similar localities. 
When it takes up its abode among mankind, it generally selects 
the breeding-places which have been built for it by those who 
know its taste, but it frequently chooses the top of a chimney, 
or some such locality. 

Sometimes, however, it is obliged to build in spots where it 
can find neither rocks nor buildings, and in such cases it builds 
on trees, and, like the heron, is sociable in its nesting, a whole 
community residing in a clump of trees. It is not very par- 
ticular about the kind of tree, provided that it be tolerably tall, 
and strong enough to bear the weight of its enormous nest ; and 
the reader will at once see that the fir-trees are peculiarly fitted 
to be the houses for the Stork. 

As is the case with so many zoological words, botanical names 
32 



482 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

seem to be frequently used in a collective sense by the scriptural 
writers, several species being signified by a single name. Thus 
the word which is in some cases translated as " fir," is n some 
rendered as " pine-tree," in others as " juniper," and in others as 
"cypress." In the present case it is undoubtedly translated 
rightly, though in the Jewish Bible it is rendered as " cypress : " 
" The trees of the Eternal satisfy themselves, the cedars of 
Lebanon which He hath planted ; where birds make their 
nests : as for the stork, cypresses are its house." 

The particular species of fir-tree to which the Psalmist alludes 
is probably the Aleppo pine {Pinus halepensis), which comes 
next to the great cedars of Lebanon in point of size. It was 
this tree that furnished the timber and planks for Solomon's 
temple and palace, a timber which was evidently held in the 
greatest estimation. This tree fulfils all the conditions which a 
Stork would require in nest-building. It is lofty, and its boughs 
are sufficiently horizontal to form a platform for the nest, and 
strong enough to sustain it. On account of its value, and the 
reckless manner in which it has been cut down without new 
plantations being formed, the Aleppo pine has vanished from 
many parts of Palestine wherein it was formerly common, and 
would afford a dwelling-place for the Stork. 

There are, however, several other species of fir which are 
common in various parts of the country, each species flourishing 
in the soil best suited to it, so that the Stork would never be at a 
loss to find a nesting-place in a country which furnished so many 
trees suitable to its purposes. 

As may be expected from the localities chosen by the Stork 
for its breeding-place, its nest is very large and heavy. It is 
constructed with very little skill, and is scarcely more than a 
huge quantity of sticks, reeds, and similar substances, heaped 
together, and having in the middle a slight depression in which 
the eggs are laid. These eggs are usually three, or perhaps four 
in number, and now and then a fifth is seen, and are of a very 
pale buff or cream colour. 

As is the case with the heron, the young of the Stork are 
quite helpless when hatched, and are most ungainly little beings, 
with their long legs doubled under them, unable to sustain their 
round and almost naked bodies, while their large beaks are ever 
gaping for food. Those of my readers who have had young 




THE STORK. 
A« f.)r the stork, the flr-trees are her houscv , — Ps. c\t. IV 



THE STORK. 483 

birds of any kind must have noticed the extremely grotesque 
appearance which they possess when they hold up their heads 
and cry for food, with their bills open to an almost incredible 
extent. In such birds as the Stork, the heron, and others of the 
tribe, the grotesque appearance is exaggerated in proportion to 
the length and gape of the bill. 

The Stork is noted for being a peculiarly kind and loving ' 
parent to its young, in that point fully deserving the derivation 
of its Hebrew name, though its love manifests itself towards 
the young, and not towards the parent. 

The Eev. H. B. Tristram mentions from personal experience an 
instance of the watchful care exercised by the Stork over its 
young. " The writer was once in camp near an old ruined 
tower in the plains of Zana, south of the Atlas, where a pair of 
storks had their nest. The four young might often be seen from 
a little distance, surveying the prospect from their lonely height, 
but whenever any of the human party happened to stroll near 
the tower, one of the old storks, invisible before, would instantly 
appear, and, lighting on the nest, put its feet gently on the necks 
of all the young, so as to hold them down out of sight till the 
stranger had passed, snapping its bill meanwhile, and assuming a 
grotesque air of indifference, and unconscious of there being any- 
thing under its charge." (Smith's " Diet. Bible," vol. iii. p. 1384.) 

The snapping noise which is here mentioned is the only sound 
produced by the Stork, which is an absolutely silent bird, as far 
as voice is concerned. 

There is another species of Stork found in Palestine, to which 
the fir-trees are especially a home. This is the Black Stork 
(Ciconia nigra), which in some parts of the country is even more 
plentiful than its white relative, which it resembles in almost 
every particular, except that it has a dark head and back, the 
feathers being glossed with purple and green like those of the 
magpie. This species, which is undoubtedly included in the 
Hebrew word chasidah, always makes its nest on trees whenever 
it can find them, and in some of the more densely wooded parts 
of Palestine is in consequence plentiful, placing its nest in the 
deepest parts of the forests. When it cannot obtain trees, it will 
build its nest on rooky ledges. It lays two or three eggs of a 
greenish white colour. 



484 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Like the preceding species, the Black Stork is easily domes- 
ticated. Colonel Montague kept one which was very tame, and 
would follow its keeper like a dog. Its tameness enabled its 
proceedings to he closely watched, arid its mode of feeding was 
thereby investigated. It was fond of examining the rank grass 
and mud for food, and while doing so always kept its bill a little 
open, so as to pounce down at once on any insect or reptile that 
it might disturb. 

Eels were its favourite food, and it was such an adept at 
catching them that it was never seen to miss one, no matter how 
small or quick it might be. As soon as it had caught one of 
these active fish, it went to some dry place, and then disabled 
its prey by shaking and beating it against the ground before 
swallowing it, whereas many birds that feed on. fish swallow 
their prey as soon as it is caught. The Stork was never seen to 
swim as the heron sometimes does, but it would wade as long as 
it could place its feet on the bed of the stream, and would strain 
its head and the whole of its neck under water in searching 
for fish. 

It was of a mild and peaceable disposition, and, even if 
angered, did not attempt to bite or strike with its beak, but 
only denoted its displeasure by blowing the air sharply from its 
lungs, and nodding its head repeatedly. After the manner of 
Storks, it always chose an elevated spot on which to repose, 
and took its rest standing on one leg, with its head so sunk 
among the feathers of its shoulders that scarcely any part of it 
was visible, the hinder part of the head resting on the back, and 
the bill lying on the fore-part of the neck. 

Though the bird is so capable of domestication, it does not of 
its own accord haunt the dwellings of men, like the White 
Stork, but avoids the neighbourhood of houses, and lives in the 
most retired places it can find. It may generally be seen in 
marshy grounds, spending the greater part of its time in pro- 
curing food, or in going to and from its nest while engaged in 
the task of feeding its young. 



THE SWAK. 485 



THE SWAN. 



Signification of the word Tinshemeth — The Gallinule and the Ibis — Appear- 
ance and habits of the Hyacinthine Gallinule — A strange use for the bird — 
The White or Sacred Ibis — The bird mentioned by Herodotus — The Glossy 
Ibis, or Black Ibis — Veneration with which the bird was regarded. 



In the two parallel chapters of Lev. xi. 18 and Deut. xiv. 10, 
the Hebrew word tinshemeth is found, and evidently signifies 
some kind of bird which was forbidden as food. After stating 
(Lev. xi. 13) that " these are they which ye shall have in abomi- 
nation among the fowls ; they shall not be eaten, they are an 
abomination," the sacred lawgiver proceeds to enumerate a 
number of birds, nearly all of which have already been de- 
scribed. Among them occurs the name of tiinshemeth, between 
the great owl and the pelican. 

What was the precise species of bird which was signified by 
this name it is impossible to say, but there is no doubt that it 
could not have been the Swan, according to the rendering of the 
Authorized Version. The Swan is far too rare a bird in Pales- 
tine to have been specially mentioned in the law of Moses, and 
in all probability it was totally unknown to the generality of the 
Israelites. Even had it been known to them, and tolerably 
common, there seems to be no reason why it should have been 
reckoned among the list of unclean birds. 

On turning to the Hebrew Bible, we find that the word is left 
untranslated, and simply given in its Hebrew form, thereby 
signifying that the translators could form no opinion whatever of 
the proper rendering of the word. The Septuagint translates the 
Tinshemeth as the Porphyrin or Ibis, and the Vulgate follows the 
same rendering. Later naturalists have agreed that the Septua- 
gint and Vulgate have the far more probable reading ; and, as 
two birds are there mentioned, they will be both described. 



486 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



The first is the Porphyrio, by which we may understand the 
Hyacinthine Gallinule {Porphyrio veterum). All the birds of 
this group are remarkable for the enormous length of their toes, 
by means of which they are enabled to walk upon the loose 




iniS AND QALI.INTLE (SWAN OF SCRIPTl'Pn). 

1 These are tltcy of which ye shall not cat . . . the little owl, and the great owl, and the swan. " 
Deut. xiv. 12, 16. 



herbage that floats on the surface of the water as firmly as if 
they were treading on land. Their feet are also used, like those 
of the parrots, in conveying food to the mouth. We have in 
England a very familiar example of the Gallinules in the common 
water-hen, or moor-hen, the toes of which are of great propor- 
tionate length, though not so long as those of the Purple Galli- 
nule, which almost rivals in this respect the jacanas of South 



THE SWAN 487 

America and China. The water-rail, and corncrake or land-rail, 
are also allied to the Gallinules. 

The Hyacinthine Gallinule derives its name from its colour, 
which is a rich and variable blue, taking a § turquoise hue on the 
head, neck, throat, and breast, and deep indigo on the back 
The large bill and the legs are red. Like many other birds, 
however, it varies much in colour according to age. 

It has a very wide geographical range, being found in many 
parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is common in the marshy 
districts of Palestine, where its rich blue plumage and its large 
size, equalling that of a duck, render it very conspicuous. The 
large and powerful bill of this bird betokens the nature of its 
food, which consists almost entirely of hard vegetable sub- 
stances, the seeds of aquatic herbage forming a large portion of 
its diet. When it searches for food on the seashore, it eats the 
marine vegetation, mixing with this diet other articles of an 
animal nature, such as molluscs and small reptiles. 

Though apparently a clumsy bird, it moves with wonderful 
speed, running not only swiftly but gracefully, its large feet 
being no hindrance to the rapidity of its movements. It is 
mostly found in shallow marshes, where the construction of its 
feet enables it to traverse both the soft muddy ground and the 
patches of firm earth with equal ease. Its wings, however, are 
by no means equal to its legs either in power or activity ; and, 
like most of the rail tribe, it never takes to the air unless abso- 
lutely obliged to do so. 

The nest of the Hyacinthine Gallinule is made on the sedge- 
patches which dot the marshes, much like that of the coot. The 
nest, too, resembles that of the coot, being composed of reeds, 
sedges, and other aquatic plants. The eggs are three or four in 
number, white in colour, and nearly spherical in form. 

The ancients were well acquainted with the Hyacinthine 
Gallinule, and were in the habit of keeping it tamed in their 
houses, in which case it was prized by the men and hated by 
the women. There was a popular idea about the bird that it 
always detected any infidelity on the part of the female sex, and 
that when the master of the house came home the bird ac- 
quainted him with the crime by making gestures as if it wished 
to strangle itself. 

There are several species of Gallinule. but that which has just 



488 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

been described is the most conspicuous, and therefore, if either 
of the Gallinules be the Tinshemeth of the Jewish lawgiver, 
we may safely conclude that the Hyacinthine Gallinule is the 
species. 

As, however, the Ibis has an equal claim to the title of Tin- 
shemeth, we will devote a few lines to a description of the bird. 
The particular species which would be signified by the word 
tinshemeth would undoubtedly be the White or Sacred Ibis 
{Ibis religiosa), a bird which derives its name of Sacred from 
the reverence with which it was held by the ancient Egyptians, 
and the frequency with which its figure occurs in the monu- 
mental sculptures. It was also thought worthy of being em- 
balmed, and many mummies of the Ibis have been found in the 
old Egyptian burial-places, having been preserved for some three 
thousand years. 

In his account of the various animals which were accounted 
sacred by the Egyptians, Herodotus mentions the Ibis, mixing up 
a considerable amount of truth with a few errors, and a good 
deal of superstition. Having heard of the relics of some winged 
serpents near the city of Buto, he went to see them. " When I 
arrived there I saw bones and spines of serpents, in such quan- 
tities as it would be impossible to describe : there were heaps of 
these spinal bones, some large, some smaller, and some still less, 
and there were great numbers of them. 

" The place in which these spinal bones lie scattered is of the 
following description : — It is a narrow pass between two moun- 
tains into a spacious plain ; this plain is contiguous to the plain 
of Egypt. It is reported that, at the beginning of spring, winged 
serpents fly from Arabia towards Egypt ; but that the ibises, a 
sort of bird, meet them at the pass, and do not allow the 
serpents to go by, but kill them. Eor this service the Arabians 
say that the ibis is highly reverenced by the Egyptians, and the 
Egyptians acknowledge that they reverence these birds for this 
reason. 

" The ibis is of the following description. It is all over a deep 
black, it has the legs of a crane, its beak is much curved, and it 
is about the size of a crex. Such is the form of the black ones 
that fight with the serpents. But those that are commonly con- 
versant ' among men (for there are two species) are bare on the 



THE SWAN. 489 

head and the whole neck ; have white plumage, except on the 
head, the throat, and the tips of the wings and extremity of the 
tail. In all these parts that I have mentioned they are of a 
deep black ; in their legs and back they are like the other kind." 
(Herod. "Euterpe,'' 75, 76, Gary's translation.) 

Putting aside the mention of the winged serpents, of which 
lie only learned by hearsay, we find that Herodotus has given a 
very fair account of two species of Ibis, — namely, the Glossy 
or Green Ibis (J Ms falcinellus), and the White or Sacred Ibis, 
whose scientific names have already been given. 
. The Glossy Ibis has been known to come as far as the British 
shores, but it requires a much warmer climate than that of 
England in order to pass its life in a state of health. It has, 
however, a large geographical range, being found both in 
Northern Africa and Southern America. It derives its popular 
name from the rich glossy plumage, which shines with a me- 
tallic or rather a silken lustre that is singularly beautiful in life, 
and is with great difficulty preserved in stuffed specimens. 

The principal hue of the bird is very deep green, but it is so 
" shot " with reflections of rich purple, blue, and gold, that it 
alters its hue with every change of light. At a little distance 
the deep green plumage looks quite black, as does that of the 
magpie, and on this account it has been called by Herodotus the 
Black Ibis. 

This species is popularly called Abou Menzel, or Father 
Sickle-bill, on account of its slender curved beak, and in some 
places goes by the name of Abou Hannes, or Father John, 
because it makes its appearance upon or about St. John's Day. 
From all appearance, it does not feed upon snakes, seeming to 
restrict itself to molluscs and similar food ; and, on account of 
this discrepancy with the account given by Herodotus, many 
writers have doubted whether it could really be the bird meant 
by that historian and traveller. But we must remember that, 
though he saw both the black and the white Ibis, he did not see 
either of them eat snakes ; and as those who told him of their 
serpent-devouring habits stated at the same time that the snakes 
had wings like those of the bat, we may summarily dismiss 
their account from the argument. 

The White Ibis, however, is the bird which was most highly 
venerated by the Egyptians, and probably for that very reason 



4:90 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

was placed among the list of prohibited birds in the ancient 
law. It is about as large as an ordinary hen, and, as its name 
imports, has the greater part of its plumage white, the ends of 
the wing-feathers and the coverts being black, with violet reflec- 
tions. The long neck is black and bare, and has a most curious 
aspect, looking as if it were made of an old black kid glove, 
very much crumpled, but still retaining its gloss. 

The reason for the extreme veneration with which the bird 
was regarded by the ancient Egyptians seems rather obscure. 
It is probable, however, that the partial migration of the bird 
was connected in their minds with the rise of the Nile, a river 
as sacred to the old Egyptians as the Ganges to the modern 
Hindoo. As soon as the water begins to rise, the Ibis makes its 
appearance, sometimes alone, and sometimes in small troops. It 
haunts the banks of the river, and marshy places in general, 
diligently searching for food by the aid of its long bill. It can 
fly well and strongly, and it utters at intervals a rather loud cry, 
dipping its head at every utterance. Specimens of these birds 
can be seen at the Zoological Gardens. 



THE CORMORANT. 

The word ShdldJc and its signification — The Greek Catarrhactes— Habits of the 
Cormorant — The bird trained to catch fish — Mode of securing its prey— Nests 
and eggs of the Cormorant — Nesting in fir-trees — Flesh of the bird. 

Although in the Authorized Version of the Scriptures the word 
Cormorant occurs three times, there is no doubt that in two of 
the passages the Hebrew word ought to have been rendered as 
Pelican, as we shall see when we come presently to the descrip- 
tion of that bird. 

In the two parallel passages, Lev. xi. 17 and Deut. xiv. 17, 
a creature called the Shalak is mentioned in the list of prohibited 
meats. That the Shalak must be a bird is evident from the 
context, and we are therefore only left to discover what sort of 
bird it may be. On looking at the etymology of the word we 



THE CORMORANT. 491 

find that it is derived from a root which signifies hurling or 
casting down, and we may therefore presume that the bird is one 
which plunges or sweeps down upon its prey. 

All Hebraists have agreed that it is one of the sea-birds, and 
this view of the case seems to be taken in the Septuagint, where 
the word is rendered by Catarrhactes, a term that has the 
same derivation in Greek as the Snalak in Hebrew. It is 
indeed the same word from which we form our term " cataract," 
to express the manner in which the water plunges or is hurled 
down from a height. 

In consequence of this derivation, several writers have 
thought that the Shalak might be the Solan goose, or gannet, a 
bird which lives on fish, and always takes its prey by darting 
down upon it from a height. This bird, however, although it 
certainly answers completely to the sense of the word shdldk, is 
not common enough on the shores of Palestine to be specially 
mentioned among the unclean birds. Other writers, seeing this 
difficulty, have thought that the Shalak might be one of the 
terns, or sea-swallows, forgetful of the fact that these are not 
plunging birds, although exceedingly swift of flight. 

Weighing, however, the opinions of the various Hebraists and 
naturalists, we may safely determine that the word shdldk has 
been rightly translated in the Authorized Version. The Hebrew 
Bible gives the same reading, and does not affix the mark of 
doubt to the word, though there are very few of the long list of 
animals in Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv. which are not either distin- 
guished by the mark of doubt, or, like the Tinshemeth, are left 
untranslated. 

The Cormorant belongs to the family of the pelicans, the re- 
lationship between them being evident to the most unpractised 
eye; and the whole structure of the bird shows its admirable 
adaptation for the life which it leads. 

Its long beak enables it to seize even a large fish, while the 
hook at the end prevents the slippery prey from escaping. The 
loug snake-like neck gives the bird the power of darting its 
beak with great rapidity, and at the same time allows it to seize 
prey immediately to the right or left of its course. Its strong, 
closely-feathered wings enable it to fly with tolerable speed, while 
at the same time they can be closed so tightly to the body that 
they do not hinder the progress of the bird through the water j 



492 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

wnile the tail serves equally when spread to direct its course 
through the air, and when partially or entirely closed to act as a 
rudder in the water. Lastly, its short powerful legs, with their 
broadly- webbed feet, act as paddles, by which the bird urges 
itself through the water with such wonderful speed that it can 
overtake and secure the fishes even in their own element. Be- 
sides these outward characteristics, we find that the bird is able 
to make a very long stay under water, the lungs being adapted so 
as to contain a wonderful amount of air. 

The method of catching prey which is practised by the Cor- 
morant is familiar to us from the fact that the Cormorant has 
been trained to play the same part in the water as the falcon in 
the air, and has been taught to catch fish, and bring them ashore 
for its master. So adroit are they, that if one of them should 
catch a fish which is too heavy for it another bird will come to 
its assistance, and the two together will bring the struggling 
prey to land. Trained birds of this description have been em- 
ployed in China from time immemorial, and in later years they 
have been re-introduced into England, where they have often 
exhibited their really wonderful powers. 

In the days of Charles I. these birds were kept in training, 
and there was attached to the Court a professed official, called 
the King's Master of the Cormorants. These birds were usually 
caught and trained in Holland, and thence exported to England. 
The disturbed state of the country during the civil wars, added 
to the sport-destroying character of the Puritans, seems to have 
caused the sport to be abandoned in this country, and it is only 
within the last few years that they have been again employed. 
In order to prevent it from swallowing the fish which it takes, 
each bird has a ring or ligature passed round its neck. 

The Cormorant is a most voracious bird, swallowing a con- 
siderable weight of fish at a meal, and digesting them so rapidly 
that it is soon ready for another supply. Although it is essen- 
tially a marine bird, hunger often takes it inland, especially to 
places where are lakes or large rivers. Mr. Waterton mentions, 
in his " Essays on Natural History," that the Cormorants often 
visited the lake at Walton Hall, and that they soon became so 
familiar and fearless, that after catching and eating their prey 
they would sit on the terrace and preen their feathers under the 
windows of the drawing-room. 



THE CORMORANT. 493 

The lake is by no means a large one, and it is probable that 
the birds were attracted by the absolute security which was felt 
by every winged creature within the domain. " His skill in 
diving," writes Mr. Waterton, " is most admirable, and his suc- 
cess beyond belief. You may know him at a distance, among a 
thousand water-fowl, by his upright neck, by his body being 
apparently half immersed in the water, and by his being per- 
petually in motion when not on land. 

" While the ducks and teal and widgeons are stationary on the 
pool, the cormorant is seen swimming to and fro, as if in quest 
of something. First raising his body nearly perpendicular, down 
he plunges into the deep, and, after staying there a considerable 
time, he is sure to bring up a fish, which he invariably swallows 
head foremost. Sometimes half an hour elapses before he can 
manage to accommodate a large eel quietly in his stomach. 

"You see' him straining violently with repeated efforts to gulp 
it ; and when you fancy that the slippery mouthful is success- 
fully disposed of, all on a sudden the eel retrogrades upwards 
from its dismal sepulchre, struggling violently to escape. The 
cormorant swallows it again, and up again it comes, and shows 
its tail a foot or more out of its destroyer's mouth. At length, 
worn out with ineffectual writhings and slidings, the eel is 
gulped down into the cormorant's stomach for the last time, 
there to meet its dreaded and inevitable fate." 

Mr. Fortune gives a somewhat similar account of the feeding 
of tame Cormorants in China. The birds preferred eels to all 
other food, and, in spite of the difficulty in swallowing the 
slippery and active creature, would not touch another fish as 
long as an eel was left. The bird is so completely at home in the 
water that it does not need, like the heron and other aquatic birds, 
to bring its prey ashore in order to swallow it, but can eat fish 
in the water as well as catch them. It always seizes the fish 
crosswise, and is therefore obliged to turn it before it can swallow- 
the prey with the head downwards. Sometimes it contrives to 
turn the fish while still under water, but, if it should fail in so 
doing, it brings its prey to the surface, and shifts it about in its 
bill, making a series of little snatches at it until the head is in 
the right direction. When it seizes a very large fish, the bird 
shakes its prey just as a dog shakes a rat, and so disables it. It 
is said to eat its own weight of fish in a single day. 



494 BIBLE ANIMALS 

Sometimes, when it has been very successful or exceptionally 
hungry, it loads itself with food to such an extent that it be- 
comes almost insensible during the process of digestion, and, 
although naturally a keen-eyed and wary bird, allows itself to 
be captured by hand. 

The nest of the Cormorant is always upon a rocky ledge, and 
generally on a spot which is inaccessible except by practised 
climbers furnished with ropes, poles, hooks, and other appur- 
tenances. Mr. Waterton mentions that when he descended the 
Raincliff, a precipice some four hundred feet in height, he saw 
numbers of the nests and eggs, but could not get at them except 
by swinging himself boldly off the face of the cliff, so as to be 
brought by the return swing into the recesses chosen by the 
birds. 

The nests are mostly placed in close proximity to each other, 
and are made of sticks and seaweeds, and, as is usual with such 
nests, are very inartificially constructed. The eggs are of a 
greenish white on the outside, and green on the inside. When 
found in the nest, they are covered with a sort of chalky crust, 
so that the true colour is not perceptible until the crust is 
scraped off. Two to four eggs are generally laid in, or rather on, 
each nest. As may be imagined from the character of the birds' 
food, the odour of the nesting-place is most horrible. 

Sometimes, when rocks cannot be found, the Cormorant is 
obliged to select other spots for its nest. It is mentioned in the 
" Proceedings of the Zoological Society," that upon an island in 
the midst of a large lake there were a number of Scotch fir- 
trees, upon the branches of which were about eighty nests of 
the Cormorant. 

The flesh of the Cormorant is very seldom eaten, as it has a 
fishy flavour which is far from agreeable. To eat an old Cor- 
morant is indeed almost impossible, but the young birds may be 
rendered edible by taking them as soon as killed, skinning them, 
removing the whole of the interior, wrapping them in cloths, 
and burying them for some time in the ground. 

From the account of this bird, the reader will see that it may 
well be the Shalak of the Old Testament. Owing to its size and 
its peculiar habits, it is a very conspicuous bird, and therefore 
likely to be selected by name by the ancient lawgiver. And 
although its flesh is not very agreeable, it can be eaten ; and, as 



THE PELICAN. 495 

has been shown, can be rendered tolerably palatable by a very 
simple process. The flesh of the Solan goose is deprived in a 
similar manner of its naturally rank and fishy flavour. 



THE PELICAN. 

The Pelican of the wilderness — Attitudes of the bird — Its love of solitude — 
Derivation of the Hebrew word — Fantastic interpretation — Mode of feeding 
the young — Fables regarding the Pelican — Breeding-places of the bird — The 
object of its wide wings and large pouch — Colour of the Pelican. 

On page 490 it has been mentioned that in two passages of 
Scripture, the word which is translated in the Authorized Ver- 
sion as Cormorant, ought to have been rendered as Pelican. 
These, however, are not the first passages in which we meet with 
the word kaath. The name occurs in the two parallel passages 
of Lev. xi. and Deut. xiv. among the list of birds which 
are proscribed as food. Passing over them, we next come to 
Ps. cii. 6. In this passage, the sacred writer is lamenting his 
misery : " By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones 
cleave to my skin. 

" I am like a pelican of the wilderness : I am like an owl of 
the desert." 

In these sentences, we see that the Kaath was a bird of 
solitude that was to be found in the "wilderness," i.e. far from 
the habitations of man. This is one of the characteristics of the 
Pelican, which loves not the neighbourhood of human beings, 
and is fond of resorting to broad, uncultivated lands, where it 
will not be disturbed. 

In them it makes its nest and hatches its young, and to them 
it retires after feeding, in order to digest in quiet the ample meal 
which it has made. Mr. Tristram well suggests that the metaphor 
of the Psalmist may allude to the habit common to the Pelican 
and its kin. of sitting motionless for hours after it has gorged 
itself with food, its head sunk on its shoulders, and its bill 
resting on its breast. 



496 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



This is but one of the singular, and often grotesque, attitudes 
in which the Pelican is in the habit of indulging. 

There are before me a number of sketches made of the 
Pelicans at the Zoological Gardens, and in no two cases does 
one attitude in the least resemble* another. In one sketch the 




THE PELICAN. 

•I am like a pelican in the wilderness." — Ps. cii. 0. 



bird is sitting in the attitude which has just been described. In 
another it is walking, or rather staggering, along, with its head 
on one side, and its beak so closed that hardly a vestige of its 
enormous pouch can be seen. Another sketch shows the same 
bird as it appeared when angry with a companion, and scolding 
its foe in impotent rage; while another shows it basking in the 






THE PELICAN. 497 

sun, with its magnificent wings spread and shaking in the warm 
beams, and its pouch hanging in folds from its chin. 

One of the most curious of these sketches shows the bird 
squatting on the ground, with its head drawn back as far as 
possible, and sunk so far among the feathers of the back and 
shoulders that only a portion of the head itself can be seen, 
while the long beak is hidden, except an inch or two of the end. 
In this attitude it might easily be mistaken at a little distance 
for an oval white stone. 

The derivation of the Hebrew word kaath is a very curious 
one. It is taken from a verb signifying "to vomit," and this 
derivation has been explained in different ways. 

The early writers, who were comparatively ignorant of natural 
history, thought that the Pelican lived chiefly on molluscs, and 
that, after digesting the animals, it rejected their shells, just as 
the owl and the hawk reject the bones, fur, and feathers of their 
prey. They thought that the Pelican was a bird of a hot tem- 
perament, and that the molluscs were quickly digested by the 
heat of the stomach : " conchas enim, calore ventris coctas, rursus 
evomit, ut testis rejectis, esculenta seligat." 

At the present day, however, knowing as we do the habits of 
the Pelican, we find that, although the reasons just given are 
faulty, and that the Pelican lives essentially on fish, and not on 
molluscs, the derivation of the word is really a good one, and 
that those who gave the bird the name of Kaath, or the vomiter, 
were well acquainted with its habits. 

The bird certainly does eat molluscs, but the principal part 
of its diet is composed of fish, which it catches dexterously by 
a sort of sidelong snatch cf its enormous bill. The skin under 
the lower part of the beak is so modified that it can form, when 
distended, an enormous pouch, capable of holding a great quan- 
tity of fish, though, as long as it is not wanted, the pouch is so 
contracted into longitudinal folds as to be scarcely perceptible. 
When it has filled the pouch, it usually retires from the water, 
and flies to a retired spot, often many miles inland, where it 
can sit and digest at its ease the enormous meal which it has 
made. 

As it often chooses its breeding-places in similar spots, far 
from the water, it has to carry the food with which it nourishes 
its young for many miles. For this purpose it is furnished, not 
33 



498 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

only with the pouch which has been just mentioned, but with 
long, wide, and very powerful wings, often measuring from twelve 
to thirteen feet from tip to tip. No one, on looking at a Pelican 
as it waddles about or sits at rest, would imagine the gigantic 
dimensions of the wings, which seem, as the bird spreads them, 
to have almost as unlimited a power of expansion as the pouch. 

In these two points the true Pelicans present a strong contrast 
"to the cormorants, though birds closely allied. The cormorant 
has its home close b} the sea, and therefore needs not to carry 
its food for any distance. Consequently, it needs no pouch, 
and has none. Neither does it require the great expanse of 
wing which is needful for the Pelican, that lias to carry such 
a weight of fish through the air. Accordingly, the wings, though 
strong enough to enable the bird to carry for a short distance 
a single fish of somewhat large size, are comparatively short and 
closely leathered, and the tlight of the cormorant possesses 
neither the grace nor the power which distinguishes that of the 
Pelican. 

When the Pelican feeds its young, it does so by pressing its 
beak against its breast, so as to force out of it the enclosed fish. 
Now the tip of the beak is armed, like that of the cormorant, 
with a sharply-curved hook, only, in the case of the Pelican, the 
hook is of a bright scarlet colour, looking, when the bird presses 
the beak against the white feathers of the breast, like a large 
drop of blood. Hence arose the curious legend respecting the 
Pelican, which represented it as feeding its young with its own 
blood, and tearing open its breast with its hooked bill. We find 
that this legend is exemplified by the oftriecurring symbol of the 
" Pelican feeding its young " in ecclesiastical art, as an emblem 
of Divine love. 

This is one of the many instances in which the inventive, 
poetical, inaccurate Oriental mind has seized some peculiarity of 
form, and based upon it a whole series of fabulous legends. As 
long as they restricted themselves to the appearance and habits 
of the animals with which they were familiarly acquainted, the 
old writers were curiously full, exact, and precise in their details. 
But as soon as they came to any creature of whose mode of life 
they were entirely or partially ignorant, they allowed their 
inventive faculties full scope, and put forward as zoological facts 
statements which were the mere creation of their own fancy. 



THE PELICAN. 499 

We have already seen several examples of this propensity, and 
shall find more as we proceed with the zoology of the Scriptures. 

The fabulous legends of the Pelican are too numerous to be 
even mentioned, but there is one which deserves notice, because 
it is made the basis of an old Persian fable. 

The writer of the legend evidently had some partial knowledge 
of the bird. He knew that it had a large pouch which could 
hold fish and water ; that it had large and powerful wings ; and 
that it was in the habit of flying far inland, either for the purpose 
of digesting its food or nourishing its young. Knowing that the 
Pelican is in the habit of choosing solitary spots in which it may 
bring up its young in safety, but not knowing the precise mode 
of its nesting, the writer in question has trusted to his imagi- 
nation, and put forward his theories as facts. 

Knowing that the bird dwells in " the wilderness/' he has 
assumed that the wilderness in question is a sandy, arid desert, 
far from water, and consequently from vegetation. Such being 
the case, the nurture of the Pelican's young is evidently a diffi- 
cult question. Being aquatic birds, the young must needs require 
water for drink and bathing, as well as fish for food ; and, though 
a supply of both these necessaries could be brought in the ample 
pouches of the parents, they would be wasted unless some mode 
of storing were employed. 

Accordingly, the parent birds were said to make their nest 
in a hollow tree, and to line it with clay, or to build it altogether 
of clay, so as to leave a deep basin. This basin the parent birds 
were said to use as a sort of store-pond, bringing home supplies 
of fish and water in their pouches, and pouring them into the 
pond. The wild beasts who lived in the desert were said to be 
acquainted with these nests, and to resort to them daily in order 
to quench their thirst, repaying their entertainers by protecting 
their homes. 

In real fact, the Pelican mostly breeds near water, and is fond 
of selecting little rocky islands where it cannot be approached 
without danger. The nest is made on the ground, and is formed 
in a most inartificial manner of reeds and grass, the general mass 
of the nest being made of the reeds, and the lining being formed 
of grass. The eggs are white, of nearly the same shape at both 
ends, and are from two to five in number. On an average, 
however, each nest will contain about two eggs. 



500 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The parent birds are very energetic in defence of their eggs 01 
young, and, according to Le Vaillant, when approached they are 
"like furious harpies let loose against us, and their cries ren- 
dered us almost deaf. They often flew so near us that they 
flapped their wings in our faces, and, though we fired our pieces 
repeatedly, we were not able to frighten them." When the well- 
known naturalist Sonnerat tried to drive a female Pelican 
from her nest, she appeared not to be frightened, but angry. 
She would not move from her nest, and when lie tried to 
push her off, she struck at him with her long bill and uttered 
cries of rage. 

In order to aid the bird in carrying the heavy weights with 
which it loads itself, the whole skeleton is permeated with air, 
and is exceedingly light. Beside this, the whole cellular system 
of the bird is honeycombed with air-cells, so that the bulk of 
the bird can be greatly increased, while its weight remains 
practically unaltered, and the Pelican becomes a sort of living 
balloon. 

The habit of conveying its food inland before eating it is so 
characteristic of the Pelican that other birds take advantage of 
it. In some countries there is a large hawk which robs the 
Pelican, just as the bald-headed eagle of America robs the 
osprey. Knowing instinctively that when a Pelican is flying 
inland slowly and heavily and with a distended pouch it is 
carrying a supply of food to its home, the hawk dashes at it, 
and frightens it so that the poor bird opens its beak, and gives 
up to the assailant the fish which it was bearing homewards. 

It is evident that the wings which are needed for supporting 
such weights, and which, as we have seen, exceed twelve feet in 
length from tip to tip, would be useless in the water, and would 
hinder rather than aid the bird if it attempted to dive as the 
close-winged cormorant does. Accordingly, we find that the 
Pelican is not a diver, and, instead of chasing its finny prey 
under water, after the manner of the cormorant, it contents 
itself with scooping up in its beak the fishes which come to the 
surface of the water. The very buoyancy of its body would 
prevent it from diving as does the cormorant, and, although it 
often plunges into the water so fairly as to be for a moment 
submerged, it almost immediately rises, and pursues its course 
on the surface of the water, and not beneath it. Like the 



THE PELICAN. 501 

cormorant, the Pelican can perch on trees, though it does not 
select such spots for its roosting-places, and prefers rocks to 
branches. In one case, however, when some young Pelicans 
had been captured and tied to a stake, their mother used to 
bring them food during the day, and at night was accustomed 
to roost in the branches of a tree above them. 

One of the two passages to which allusion has already been 
made in which the word kaath has been wrongly translated, 
occurs in Isa. xxxiv. 10, 11 : "From generation to generation 
it shall lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 

" But the cormorant [Pelican in margin] and the bittern 
shall possess it ; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it : 
and He shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion and the 
stones of emptiness." 

These words form part of a prophecy concerning Idumaea, or 
Edom, in which the desolation that is to come upon the land 
is painted in the most vivid colours. The streams are to be 
turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone; thorns are to 
come up in the palaces, and nettles and brambles in the for- 
tresses, and the land is to be washed with blood. And so 
great is to be the desolation of the land, that even the Pelican, 
which keeps itself far from the habitations of men, is to 
possess it. 

A similar figure is employed by the prophet Zephaniah, when 
writing of the utter destruction of Mnevah, that "'rejoicing 
city, that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there 
is no more beside me." In chap. ii. ver. 13, 14, the prophet 
writes as follows : " He will stretch out His hand against the 
north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a deso- 
lation, and dry like a wilderness. 

"And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts 
of the nations ; both the cormorant [Pelican] and bittern shall 
lodge in the upper lintels of it, their voices shall sing in the 
windows ; desolation shall be in the threshold : for He shall 
overcome the cedar work." 

In both' these passages the Jewish Bible renders the word 
kaath as Pelican. For a further explanation of them the reader 
is referred to the article on the hedgehog. 

It will be now seen that, accepting the Kaath to be the 
Pelican, the imagery of the scriptural writers is as accurate as 



502 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

it is forcible. Though under some circumstances a thoroughly 
social bird, it is yet fond of retiring to the most solitary spots 
in order to consume at peace the prey that it has captured . 
and, as it sits motionless and alone for hours, more like a white 
stone than a bird, it may well be accepted as a type of solitude 
and desolation. 

The colour of the common Pelican is white, with a very slight 
pinky tinge, which is most conspicuous in the breeding season. 
The feathers of the crest are yellow, and the quill feathers of 
the wings are jetty black, contrasting well with the white 
plumage of the body. The pouch is yellow, and the upper 
part of the beak bluish grey, with a red line running across 
the middle, and a bright red hook at the tip. This plumage 
belongs only to the adult bird, that of the young being ashen 
grey, and four or five years are required before the bird puts on 
its full beauty. There is no difference in the appearance of the 
sexes. The illustration on page 496 represents a fine old male 
Crested Pelican (Pelecanus cristatus). The general colour is 
greyish white, with a slight yellowish tint on the breast. The 
pouch is bright orange, and the crest is formed of curling 
feathers. 



REPTILES 



THE TORTOISE. 

Reptiles in general — Looseness of the term " creeping tilings " — The Tzah of the 
Scriptures, translated as Tortoise — Flesh and eggs of the Tortoise — Its slow 
movements — Hibernation dependent on temperature — The "Water-Tortoises — 
Their food and voracity — Their eggs — Their odour terrifying the horses —The 
Dhubb lizard and its legends — Its armed tail, and the use made of it — Its food, 
and localities which it prefers. 

We now come to a different class of animated beings. We have 
already found that the sacred writers were very loose in their 
nomenclature of the mammalia and birds, and we may therefore 
expect to find that even greater uncertainty prevails with regard 
to the Eeptiles. It is evident that the sacred writers classed 
together the " creeping things " of the earth, without troubling 
themselves about zoological accuracy, and that by them a lizard, 
a centipede, and a caterpillar would have been alike classed as 
belonging to the " creeping things." For example, we learn in 
Deut. xiv. 19 that "every creeping thing that flieth" is un- 
clean. On referring to Levit. xi. 21, we find that the same prohi- 
bition is repeated, but with an addition that shows that the 
sacred writer is treating of insects under the head of "creeping 
things." " Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing 
that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to 
leap withal upon the earth ; 

" Even these of them may ye eat ; the locust after his kind, 
and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, 
and the grasshopper after his kind. 

"But all other flying creeping things which have four feet 
shall be an abomination unto you." 

As to the particular species signified by these different insects, 
the reader is referred to that portion of the work which treats of 
entomology ; and it is sufficient to observe that in this passage 
the term " creeping things " is employed to designate insects. 



506 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

If we pass to verse 42 of the same chapter, we find that 
among the "creeping things" the centipedes, millepedes, and 
very probably the caterpillars, are ranked. " Whatsoever hath 
more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, 
them ye shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 

"Ye shall not make yourselves [or, your souls] abominable 
with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make 
yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled 
thereby." 

Again, in Ps. civ. 24, 25, different orders of animals are 
classed under the name of creeping things : " Lord, how 
manifold are Thy works ! in wisdom hast Thou made them all : 
the earth is full of Thy riches. 

" So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping 
innumerable, both small and great beasts." In this passage it 
is probable that the sacred writer classed together all the inha- 
bitants of the sea that creep and that do not swim with fins, and 
that under this term are first comprised the marine turtles, and 
perhaps snakes. Indeed, from verses 1.0 and 11 of Levit. xi. it is 
almost certain that marine and aquatic reptiles are signified : 
" All that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, 
of all that move in the waters, and of every living thing which 
is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you : 

"They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall 
not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in 
abomination." 

This prohibition also includes the whole of the molluscs, and 
the marine worms, or annelids. 

We will take these creatures in their order, and begin with 
those which are classed as Eeptiles by the zoologists of the 
present day, and which are distinguished by having a bony 
skeleton, breathing by means of lungs and not of gills, having a 
heart with two auricles and one venticle, and the skin being 
covered with horny plates or scales. The first in order are 
those which are covered with plates, and which are known as 
the Chelarians, including the Tortoises and Turtles. 

In Levit. xi. 29, there occurs among the list of unclean 
beasts a word which is translated in the Authorized Version as 
" tortoise." The word is Tzdb, and is rendered in the Hebrew 



THE TORTOISE. 



507 



Bible as " lizard," but with the mark of doubt affixed to it. As 
the correct translation of the word is very dubious, we shall 
examine it in both these senses. 

The common Tortoise (Testudo Grceca) is very common in 
Palestine, and is so plentiful that it would certainly have been 




THK DHUBB AND TORTOISE. 

These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth ; the 
weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind." — Levit. xi. 29. 



used by the Israelites as food, had it not been prohibited by 
law. At the present day it is cooked and eaten by the inha- 
bitants of the country who are not Jews, and its eggs are in as 
great request as those of the fowl. 

These eggs are hard, nearly spherical, thick-shelled, and 
covered with minute punctures, giving them a roughness like 



508 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

that of a file. In captivity the Tortoise is very careless about 
the mode in which they are deposited, and I have seen a large 
yard almost covered with eggs laid by Tortoises and abandoned. 
The white or albumen of the egg is so stiff and gelatinous that 
to empty one of them without breaking the shell is a difficult 
task, and the yolk is very dark, and covered with minute spots 
of black. When fresh the eggs are as good as those of the fowl, 
and many persons even think them better ; the only drawback 
being that their small size and thick shell cause considerable 
trouble in eating them. 

The flesh of the Tortoise is eaten, not only by human beings, 
but by birds, such as the lammergeier. In order to get at the 
flesh of the Tortoise, they carry it high in the air and drop it on 
the ground so as to break the shell to pieces, should the reptile 
fall on a stone or rock. If, as is not often the case in such a 
rocky land as that of Palestine, it should fall on a soft spot, the 
bird picks it up, soars aloft, and drops it again. 

The Tortoises have no teeth, but yet are able to crop the 
nerbage with perfect ease. In lieu of teeth the edges of the 
jaws are sharp-edged and very hard, so that they cut anything 
that comes between them like a pair of shears. Leaves that are 
pulpy and crisp are bitten through at once, but those that are 
thin, tough, and fibrous are rather torn than bitten, the Tortoise 
placing its feet upon them, and dragging them to pieces with its 
jaws. The carnivorous Tortoises have a similar habit, as we shall 
presently see. 

This is the species from whose deliberate and slow movements 
the familiar metaphor of " slow as a Tortoise " was derived, and 
it is this species which is the hero of the popular fable of the 
" Hare and the Tortoise." Many of the reptiles are very slow 
in some things and astonishingly quick in others. Some of the 
lizards, for example, will at one time remain motionless for 
many hours together, or creep about with a slow and snail-like 
progress, while at others they dart from spot to spot with such 
rapidity that the eye can scarcely follow their movements. This 
however is not the case with the Tortoise, which is always slow, 
and, but for the defensive armour in which it is encased, would 
long ago have been extirpated. 

During the whole of the summer months it may be seen 
crawling deliberately among the herbage, eating in the same 



THE TORTOISE. 509 

deliberate style which characterises all its movements, and occa- 
sionally resting in the same spot for many hours together, 
apparently enjoying the warm beams of the sunshine. 

As winter approaches, it slowly scrapes a deep hole in the 
ground, and buries itself until the following spring awakes it 
once more to active life. The depth of its burrow depends on 
the severity of the winter, for, as the cold increases, the Tortoise 
sinks itself more deeply into the earth. 

Mention has been made of a species of Tortoise that inhabits 
the water. This is the Caspian Emys (Emys caspica), a small 
species, measuring about six inches in length. It belongs to the 
large family of the Terrapins, several of which are so well known 
in America, and has a long, retractile neck, very sharp jaws, and 
webbed feet, and a well-developed tail. 

The body is flattish, and the colour is olive, with lines of 
yellow edged with black, and the head is marked with longi- 
tudinal streaks of bright yellow. After the death of the creature 
these yellow streaks fade away gradually, and at last become 
nearly black. The skin of the head is thin, but very hard. In 
general appearance it is not unlike the chicken Tortoise of 
America, a species which is often brought to England and kept 
in captivity, on account of its hardy nature and the little trouble 
which is needed for keeping it in health. 

I have kept specimens of the Caspian Emys for some time, 
and found them to be more interesting animals than they at first 
promised to be. They were active, swimming with considerable 
speed, and snatching quickly at anything which they fancied 
might be food. 

They were exceedingly voracious, consuming daily a quantity 
of meat apparently disproportioned to their size, and eating it in 
a manner that strongly reminded me of the mole when engaged 
on a piece of meat or the body of a bird or mouse. The Tortoise 
would plant its fore-paws firmly at each side of the meat, seize 
a mouthful in its jaws, and, by retracting its head violently, 
would tear away the piece which it had grasped. 

They are most destructive among fish, and are apt to rise 
quietly underneath a fish as it basks near the surface of the 
water, grasp it beneath with its sharp-edged jaws, and tear away 
the piece, leaving the fish to die. It is rather remarkable that 



510 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the Lepidosiren, or mud-fish of the Gambia, destroys fish in a 
precisely similar manner, though, as its jaws are much sharper 
than those of the Emys, it does not need the aid of fore-paws in 
biting out its mouthful of flesh. 

Like the land Tortoise, it is one of the hibernators, and during 
the winter months buries itself deeply in the earth, choosing 
for this purpose the soft, muddy bed or bank of the pond in 
which it lives. Its eggs are white, and hard-shelled, but are 
more oval than those of the land Tortoise, and both ends are 
nearly alike. In fact, its egg might well be mistaken for that 
of a small pigeon. The shell has a porcelain-like look, and is 
very liable to crack, so that the resemblance is increased. 

There is one drawback to these reptiles when kept as pets. 
They give out a very unpleasant odour, which is disagreeable to 
human nostrils, but is absolutely terrifying to many animals. 
The monkey tribe have the strongest objection to these aquatic 
Tortoises. I once held one of them towards a very tame 
chimpanzee, much to his discomfiture. He muttered and re- 
monstrated, and retreated as far as he could, pushing out his 
lips in a funnel-like form, and showing his repugnance to the 
reptile in a manner that could not be mistaken. 

Horses seem to be driven almost frantic with terror, not only 
by the sight, but by the odour of these Tortoises. In Southern 
Africa there are Tortoises closely allied to the Caspian Emys, 
and having the same power of frightening horses. In " Land 
and Water" for February 22d, 1869, there is an account of an 
adventure with one of those Tortoises, called in the catalogue 
of the British Museum the Eeddish Pelamedusa. It is of an 
olive colour, and, when adult, there is a slight depression on 
either side of the vertebral line. 

" Some very awkward accidents have occurred to parties from 
the terror caused by the fresh-water turtle {Pelamedusa subrufa). 
Carts have been smashed to fragments, riders thrown, and the 
utmost confusion caused by them. It is their smell, and it is 
certainly very disagreeable. 

" My first acquaintance with the fact was in this wise. I 
was out shooting with two young ladies who had volunteered 
as markers ; and, as you know, all our shooting is done from 
horseback. I had jumped off for a shot at some francolins 
near a knill, or water-hole, and, after picking up my birds, was 



THE TORTOISE. 511 

coming round the knill to windward of the horses. In my path 
scrambled a turtle. I called out to my young friends, and told 
them of my find, on which one of them, in a hasty voice, said, 
' Oh, please, Mr. L., don't touch it ; you will frighten the 
horses ! ' 

" Of course I laughed at the idea, and picked up the reptile, 
which instantly emitted its pungent odour — its means of de- 
fence. Though a long way off, the moment the horses caught 
the scent, away they flew, showing terror in every action. The 
girls, luckily splendid riders, tugged in vain at the reins ; away 
they went over the Veldt, leaving me in mortal fear that the 
yawning 'aard-vark' holes (Orycteropus capensis) would break 
their necks. My own horse, which I had hitched to a bush, 
tore away his bridle, and with the ends streaming in the wind 
and the stirrups clashing about him, sped off home at full 
gallop, and was only recovered after a severe chase by my 
gallant young Amazons, who, after a race of some miles, succeeded 
in checking their affrighted steeds and in securing my runaway. 
But for some hours after, if I ventured to windward, there were 
wild-looking eyes and cocked ears — the smell of the reptile 
clung to me." 

Should any of my readers keep any of those water Tortoises, 
they will do well to supply them plentifully with food, to give 
them an elevated rocky perch on which they can scramble, 
and on which they will sit for hours so motionless that at a 
little distance they can scarcely be distinguished from the stone 
on which they rest. They should also be weighed at regular 
intervals, as decrease of weight is a sure sign that something is 
wrong, and, as a general rule, is an almost certain precursor 
of death. 

This little reptile is not without its legends. According to 
the old writers on natural history, it is of exceeding use to vine- 
growers in the season when there is excess of rain or haiL 
Whenever the owner of a vineyard sees a black cloud approach- 
ing, all he has to do is, to take one of these Tortoises, lay it on 
its back, and carry it round the vineyard. He must then go 
into the middle of the ground and lay the reptile on the earth, 
still on its back ; and the effect of this proceeding would be that 
the cloud would pass aside from a place so well protected. 

"But," proceeds the narrator, not wishing to be responsible 



512 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

for the statement, " such diabolical and foolish observations 
were not so muche to be remembered in this place, were it not 
for their sillinesse, that by knowing them men might learn the 
weaknesse of human wisdom when it erreth from the fountain of 
all science and true knowledge (which is Divinity), and the 
most approved assertions of nature. And so I will say no more 
in this place of the sweet- water tortoise." 



THE DHUBB. 

We now come to the second animal, which may probably be 
the Tzab of the Old Testament. 

This creature is one of the lizards, and is a very odd-looking 
creature. It is certainly not so attractive in appearance that 
the Jews might be supposed to desire it as food ; but it often 
happens that, as is the case with the turtle and iguana, from 
the most ungainly, in the latter animal even repulsive, forms are 
produced the most delicate meats. 

The Dhubb, or Egyptian Masttgure, as the lizard is indiffer- 
ently called, grows to a considerable size, measuring when adult 
three feet in length. Its colour is green, variegated with brown, 
and is slightly changeable, though not to the extent that dis- 
tinguishes the chameleon. The chief peculiarity of this lizard 
consists in its tail, which is covered with a series of whorls or 
circles of long, sharply-pointed, hard-edged scales. The very 
appearance of this tail suggests its use as a weapon of defence, 
and it is said that even the dreaded cerastes is conquered by it, 
when the lizard and the snake happen to find themselves 
occupants of the same hole. 

The ancients had a very amusing notion respecting the use of 
the spiny tail possessed by the Dhubb and its kin. They had 
an idea that, comparatively small though it was, it fed upon 
cattle, and that it was able to take them from the herd and 
drive them to its home. For this purpose, when it had selected 
an ox, it jumped on its back, and by the pricking of its sharp 
claws drove the animal to gallop in hope of ridding himself of 
his tormentor. In order to guide him in the direction of its 
home, it made use of its tail, lashing the ox " to make him go 
with his rider to the place of his most fit execution, free from 






THE DHUBB. 513 

all rescue of his herdsman, or pastor, or the annoyance of pas- 
sengers, where, in most cruel and savage manner, he teareth the 
limbs and parts one from another till he be devoured." 

This very absurd account is headed by an illustration, which, 
though bad in drawing and rude in execution, is yet so bold and 
truthful that there is no doubt that it was sketched from the 
living animal. 

As it haunts sandy downs, rocky spots, and similar localities, 
it is well adapted for the Holy Land, which is the home of a 
vast number of reptiles, especially of those belonging to the 
lizards. In the summer time they have the full enjoyment of 
the hot sunbeams, in which they delight, and which seem to 
rouse these cold-blooded creatures to action, while they deprive 
the higher animals of all spirit and energy. In the winter time 
these very spots afford localities wherein the lizards can hibernate 
until the following spring, and in such a case they furnish the 
reptiles with secure hiding-places. 

Although the I)hubb does nut destroy and tear to pieces oxen 
and other cattle, it is yet a rather bloodthirsty reptile, and will 
kill and devour birds as large as the domestic fowl. Usually, 
however, its food consists of beetles and other insects, which it 
takes deliberately. 

Whether or not the Dhubb be the same reptile as the Tzab of 
the Old Testament, the resemblance between the Hebrew and 
Arabic words is very remarkable. 



84 



514 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE LEVIATHAN OR CROCODILE. 

Signification of the word Leviathan — Description in the Book of Job — Structure 
and general habits of the Crocodile — The throat-valve and its use — Position 
of the nostrils — Worship of the Crocodile — The reptile known in the Holy 
Land— Two legends respecting its presence there — Mode of taking prey — 
Curjning of the Crocodile— The baboons and the Crocodile — Speed of the 
reptile — Eggs and young of the Crocodile, and their enemies — Curious story 
of the ichneumon and ibis — Modes of capturing the Crocodile — Analysis of 
Job's description— The Crocodile also signified by the word Tannin. Aaron's 
rod changed into a Tannin — Various passages in which the word occurs — Use 
of tbe word by the prophet Jeremiah. 

The word Leviathan is used in a rather loose manner in the Old 
Testament, in some places representing a mammalian of the sea, 
and in others signifying a reptile inhabiting the rivers. As in 
the most important of these passages the Crocodile is evidently 
signified, we will accept that rendering, and consider the Croco- 
dile as being the Leviathan of Scripture. The Jewish Bible 
accepts the word Crocodile, and does not add the mark of doubt. 

The fullest account of the Leviathan occurs in Job xli.. the 
whole of which chapter is given to the description of the terrible 
reptile. As the translation of the Jewish Bible differs in some 
points from that of the Authorized Version, I shall here give 
the former, so that the reader may be able to compare them with 
each other. 

" Canst thou draw out a crocodile with a hook, or his tongue 
with a cord which thou lettest down ? 

" Canst thou put a reed into his nose, or bore his jaw through 
with a thorn ? 

" Will he make many supplications unto thee ? will he speak 
soft words unto thee ? 

" Will he make a covenant with thee ? wilt thou take him as 
a servant for ever ? 

" Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, or wilt thou bind 
him for thy maidens ? 

" Shall the companions make a banquet of him ? shall they 
part him among the merchants ? 



THE CROCODILE. 515 

■ Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with 
fish-spears ? 

" Lay thine hand upon him, thou wilt no more remember the 
battle. 

" Behold, the hope of him is in vain ; shall not one bo cast 
down at the sight of him T 

" None is so fierce that dare stir him up ; who then is able to 
stand before Me ? 

" Who hath forestalled Me that I should repay him? whatsoever 
is under the whole heaven is Mine. 

" I will not be silent of his parts, nor of the matter of his 
power, nor of his comely proportion. 

" Who can uncover the face of his garment ? who would enter 
the double row in his jaw? 

11 Who can open the doors of his face ? his teeth are terrible 
round about. 

" The strength of his shields are his pride, shut up together 
as with a close seal. 

"One is so near to another that no air can come between 
them. 

" They are joined one to another, they stick together that they 
cannot be sundered. 

" His snortiDgs make light to shine, and his eyes are like the 
eyelids of the morning dawn. 

" Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or 
caldron. 

" His breath kindleth live coals, and a flame goeth out of his 
mouth. 

" In his neck abideth strength, and before him danceth terror. 

" The flakes of his flesh are joined together, they are firm in 
themselves ; yea, as hard as nether millstone. 

"When he raiseth himself up. the mighty are afraid; by 
reason of breakings they lose themselves. 

" The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold : the 
spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. 

" He esteemeth iron as straw, and copper as rotten wood. 

" The arrow cannot make him flee : sling-stones are turned 
with him into stubble. 

'* Clubs are counted as stubble ; he laugheth at the shaking of 
a spear. 



516 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" His under parts are like sharp points of potsherd ; he 
speaketh sharp points upon the mire. 

" He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; he maketh the sea 
like a pot of ointment. 

'• He maketh a path to shine after him ; one would think the 
deep to be hoary. 

" Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. 

" He bcholdeth all high things ; he is a king over all the 
children of pride." 

This splendid description points as clearly to the Crocodile 
as the description of the Behemoth which immediately precedes 
it does to the hippopotamus, and it is tolerably evident that the 
sacred poet who wrote these passages must have been personally 
acquainted with both the Crocodile and the hippopotamus. In 
both descriptions there are a few exaggerations, or rather, poetical 
licences. For example, the bones of the hippopotamus are said 
to be iron and copper, and the Crocodile is said to kindle live 
coals with his breath. These, however, are but the natural 
imagery of an Oriental poet, and, considering the subject, we 
may rather wonder that the writer has not introduced even more 
fanciful metaphors. 

Before proceeding with the Biblical portion of the history of 
this formidable reptile, I will mention a few points connected 
with the Crocodile and its kin. There are several species of 
Crocodile in different parts of the world, ten species at least 
being known to science. Some inhabit India, some tropical 
America, some Asia, and some Africa, so that the genus is 
represented in nearly all the warmer parts of the world. 

They are all known by the formation of the teeth, the lower 
canines fitting each into a notch on the side of the upper jaw. 
The feet are webbed to the tips, and though the reptile mostly 
propels itself through the water by means of its tail, it can also 
paddle itself gently along by means of its feet. The teeth are 
all made for snatching and tearing, but not for masticating, the 
Crocodile swallowing its prey entire vhen possible ; and when 
the animal is too large to be eaten entire, the reptile tears it to 
pieces, and swallows the fragments without attempting to mas- 
ticate them. 

In order to enable it to open its mouth under water, the back 



THE CROCODILE. 517 

of its throat is furnished with a very simple but beautiful con- 
trivance, whereby the water is received on a membranous valve, 
and, in proportion to its pressure, closes the orifice of the throat. 
As the Crocodiles mostly seize their prey in their open jaws and 
hold it under water until devoured, it is evident that, without 
such a structure as has been described the Crocodile would be 
as likely to drown itself as its prey. But the throat- valve 
enables it to keep its mouth open while the water is effectually 
prevented from running down its throat, and the nostrils, placed 
at the end of the snout, enable it to breathe at its ease, while 
the unfortunate animal which it has captured is being drowned 
beneath the surface ci the water. 

This position of the nostrils serves another purpose, and 
enables the Crocodile to breathe while the whole of its body is 
under the water, and only an inch or two of the very end of the 
snout is above the surface. As, moreover, the Crocodile, as is 
the case with most reptiles, is able to exist for a considerable 
time without breathing, it only needs to protrude its nostrils for 
a few moments, and can then sink entirely beneath the wate v . 
In this way the reptile is able to conceal itself in case it should 
suspect danger ; and as, in such instances, it dives under the 
herbage of the river, and merely thrusts its nose into the air 
among the reeds and rushes, it is evident that, in spite of its 
enormous size, it baffles the observation of almost every foe. 

The Crocodile is one of the ?nany animals to which divine 
honours were paid by the Egyptians. This we learn from several 
sources. Herodotus, for example, in " Euterpe," chapter 69, w T rites 
as follows : " Those who dwell about Thebes and Lake Mceris, 
consider them to be very sacred ; and they each of them train 
up a Crocodile, which is taught to be quite tame ; and they put 
crystal and gold ear-rings into their ears, and bracelets on their 
fore-paws ; and they give them appointed and sacred food, and 
treat them as well as possible while alive, and when dead, they 
embalm them, and bury them in sacred vaults. 

" But the people who dwell about the city of Elephantine eat 
them, not considering them as sacred." 

The reasons for this worship are several. At the root of them 
all lies the tendency of man to respect that which he fears 
rather than that which he loves ; and the nearer the man 
approaches the savage state, the more is this feeling developed. 



518 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

By this tendency his worship is regulated, and it will be found 
that when man is sufficiently advanced to be capable of worship 
at all, his reverence is invariably paid to the object which has 
the greatest terrors for him. The Crocodile, therefore, being the 
animal that was most dreaded by the ancient Egyptians, was 
accepted as the natural type of divinity. 

By degrees, though the worship of the Crocodile was retained, 
the worshippers thought themselves obliged to find reasons for 
their veneration, and some of them said that they considered the 
Crocodile a type of divinity because it had no tongue, and was 
therefore an emblem of divine power, which requites no tongue 
wherewith to speak. " For by a mute and silent way it ascendeth, 
and bringeth all things mortal to a vocal justice, which speaketh 
in action, though not in voyce, even, as all that is in the Croco- 
dile is action and not voyce." 

Some said that they reverenced the Crocodile because it laid 
threescore eggs and lived threescore years, this being the span of 
human life. Others, and these give by far the best reason, say 
that divine honours are paid to the Crocodile because the time 
of laying the eggs and hatching the young foreshows the annual 
rising of the Nile, on which depends the prosperity of the whole 
country. Still, there is no doubt that, whatever explanations 
may have been offered by the advocates of Crocodile worship, 
the true reason for it was nothing but the terror inspired by the 
animal. 

Owing to the accurac} r of the description in the Book of Job, 
which is evidently written by one who was personally acquainted 
with bhe Crocodile, it is thought by manj commentators that the 
writer must have been acquainted with the Nile, in which river 
both the Crocodile and hippopotamus are found at the present day. 

It is possible, however, that the hippopotamus and the Croco- 
dile have had at one time a much wider range than they at 
present enjoy. Even within the memory of man the hippo- 
potamus has been driven further and further up the Nile by 
the encroachments of man. It has long been said that even at the 
present day the Crocodile exists in Palestine in the river which 
is called " Nhar Zurka," which flows from Samaria through the 
plains of Sharon. Several of the older writers have mentioned 
its existence in this river, and, since this work was commenced, 



THE CROCODILE. 519 

the long-vexed question has been set at rest ; a Crocodile, eight 
feet in length, having been captured in the Nhar Zurka. 

In her " Domestic Life in Palestine," Miss Rogers gives an old 
legend by which the people account for the presence of Crocodiles 
in this river. Many ages ago there dwelt upon the bank of the 
river an old man and his two sons, the elder of whom was idle 
and profligate, while the younger was industrious and virtuous. 

The father died, and left them each an equal share of his 
wealth — the flocks and herds which fed on the rich banks of 
the river. In process of time, the elder brother wasted all his 
property by riotous living and neglect, while the younger brother 
had greatly increased his flocks and herds, and had become a 
wealthy man. The elder, being jealous of his brother's prosperity, 
sought in his mind how to do him an injury. Accordingly, he 
travelled to Egypt, brought some young Crocodiles thence, and 
turned them into the river, hoping that they would destroy his 
brother's flocks as they came to drink. 

Some time afterwards, he went down to the river, and, as he 
had been accustomed to do, descended to the water to wash, 
when the Crocodiles seized him, dragged him into the water, and 
devoured him. 

This is one legend. Another states that many years ago a 
colony of Egyptians had settled on the bank of the Nhar Zurka, 
and that they, being worshippers of the Crocodile, brought some 
of the young from the Nile and established them in the river, 
which thenceforward bore the name of Nhar Zurka, or the 
Crocodile River. The reader will doubtless have noticed that 
in both these legends the Crocodile is said to be an importation 
from the Nile, and is not held to be indigenous to the river. 

Allusion is made in the former of these two legends to the 
mode in which the Crocodile seizes its prey. It does not attack 
it openly, neither, as some have said, does it go on shore for that 
purpose. It watches to see whether any animal conies to drink, 
and then, sinking beneath the surface of the water, dives rapidly, 
rises unexpectedly beneath the unsuspecting victim, seizes it 
with a sudden snap of its huge jaws, and drags it beneath the 
water. Should the intended prey be too far from the water to 
be reached by the mouth, or so large that it may offer a suc- 
cessful resistance, the Crocodile strikes it a tremendous blow 
with its tail, and knocks it into the water. The dwellers on the 



520 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Nile bank say that a large Crocodile will with a single blow of 
its tail break all the four legs of an ox or a horse. 

These cunning reptiles even contrive to catch birds as they 
come for water. On the banks of the Nile the smaller birds 
drink in a very peculiar manner. They settle in numbers on 
the flexible branches that overhang the stream, and when, by 
their weight, the branch bends downwards, they dip their beaks 
in the water. The Crocodile sees afar off a branch thus loaded, 
swims as near as possible, and then dives until it can see the 
birds immediately above it, when it rises suddenly, and with a 
snap of its jaws secures a w 7 hole mouthful of the unsuspecting 
birds. 

Sir S. Baker, in his travels on the Nile, gave much attention 
to the Crocodile, and has collected a great amount of interesting 
information about the reptile, much of which is peculiarly 
valuable, inasmuch as it illustrates the Scriptural notices of 
the creature. He states that it is a very crafty animal, and that 
its usual mode of attack is by first showing itself, then swim- 
ming slowly away to a considerable distance, so as to make its 
intended victim think that danger is over, and then returning 
under water. It is by means of this manoeuvre that it captures 
the little birds. It first makes a dash at them, open-mouthed, 
causing them to take to flight in terror. It then sails slowly 
away as if it were so baffled that it did not intend to renew the 
attack. When it is at a considerable distance, the birds think 
that their enemy has departed, and return to the branch, which 
they crowd more than ever, and in a minute or two several dozen 
of them are engulfed in the mouth of the Crocodile, which has 
swiftly dived under them. 

On one occasion, Sir S. Baker was walking near the edge of 
the river, when he heard a great shrieking of women on the 
opposite bank. It turned out that a number of women had 
been filling their "gerbas" (water-skins), when one of them was 
suddenly attacked by a large Crocodile. She sprang back, and 
the reptile, mistaking the filled gerba for a woman, seized it, and 
gave the owner time to escape. It then dashed at the rest of 
the women, but only succeeded in seizing another gerba. 

A short time previously a Crocodile, thought by the natives 
to be the same individual, had seized a woman and carried her 
off; and another had made an attack on a man in a very curious 




THE CROCODILE. THE LEVIATHAN OF SUBIPTUKE. 

Canst thou fill his «kin with barbed Irons! ..r his head with fish spears f'-Joa xli. 7. 



THE CROCODILE. 521 

manner. A number of men were swimming across the river, 
supported, after their custom, on gerbas inflated with air, when 
one of them felt himself seized by the leg by a Crocodile, which 
tried to drag him under water. He, however, retained his hold 
on the skin, and his companions also grasped his arms and hair 
with one hand, while with the other they struck with their 
spears at the Crocodile. At last they succeeded in driving the 
reptile away, and got their unfortunate companion to land, where 
they found that the whole of the flesh was stripped from the 
leg from the knee downwards. The poor man died shortly 
afterwards. 

These crafty reptiles also try to catch the baboons by lying 
in wait for them at their drinking places ; but the baboons are 
generally more than a match for the Crocodile in point of 
cunning and quickness of sight. Sir S. Baker witnessed an 
amusing example of such an attempt and its failure. 

" The large tamarind-trees on the opposite bank are generally 
full of the dog-faced baboons (Cynoccphalus) at their drinking 
hour. I watched a large Crocodile creep slily out of the water 
and lie in waiting among the rocks at the usual drinking place 
before they arrived, but the baboons were too wide awake to be 
taken in so easily. 

" A young fellow was the first to discover the enemy. He 
had accompanied several wise and experienced eld hands to 
the extremity of a bough that at a considerable height over- 
hung the river ; from this post they had a bird's eye view, 
and reconnoitred before one of the numerous party descended 
to drink. The sharp eyes of the young one at once detected 
the Crocodile, who matched in colour so well with the rocks 
that most probably a man would not have noticed it until 
too lute. 

11 At once the young one commenced shaking the bough and 
screaming with all his might, to attract the attention of the 
Crocodile and to induce it to move. In this he was immediately 
joined by the whole party, who yelled in chorus, while the large 
old males tallowed defiance, and descended to the lowest branches 
within eight or ten feet of the Crocodile. It was of no use — 
the pretender never stirred, and I watched it until dark. It 
remained still in the same place, waiting for some unfortunate 
baboon whose thirst might provoke his fate, but not one was 



522 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

sufficiently foolish, although the perpendicular bank prevented 
them from drinking except at that particular spot." 

It may be imagined that if the Crocodile were to depend 
entirely for its food upon the animals that it catches on the bank 
or in the river, it would run a risk of starving. The fact is, that 
its principal food consists of fish, which it can chase in the water. 
The great speed at which the Crocodile darts through the water 
is not owing to its webbed feet, but to its powerful tail, which 
is swept from side to side, and thus propels the reptile after 
the manner of a man " sculling " a boat with a single oar in 
the stern. The whales and the fishes have a similar mode of 
propulsion. 

On land, the tail is the Crocodile's most formidable weapon. 
It is one mass of muscle and sinew, and the force of its lateral 
stroke is terrible, sweeping away every living thing that it may 
meet. Fortunately for its antagonists, the Crocodile can turn 
but very slowly, so that, although it can scramble along at a 
much faster pace than its appearance indicates, there is no great 
difficulty in escaping, provided that the sweep of its tail be 
avoided. As the Crocodile of the Nile attains when adult a 
length of thirty feet, one moiety of which is taken up by the 
tail, it may easily be imagined that the power of this weapon 
can scarcely be exaggerated. ■ 

As if to add to the terrors of the animal, its head, back, and 
tail are shielded by a series of horny scales, which are set so 
closely together that the sharpest spear can seldom find its way 
through them, and even the rifle ball glances off, if it strikes 
them obliquely. Like many other reptiles, the Crocodile is 
hatched from eggs which are laid on shore and vivified by the 
warmth of the sun. 

These eggs are exceedingly small when compared with the 
gigantic lizard which deposited them, scarcely equalling in 
dimensions those of the goose. There is now before me an egg 
of the cayman of South America, a fresh-water lizard but little 
smaller than the Crocodile of the Nile, and this is barely equal 
in size to an ordinary hen's egg. It is longer in proportion to 
its width, but the contents of the two eggs would be as nearly 
as possible of the same bulk. On the exterior it is very rough, 
having a granulated appearance, not unlike that of dried shark- 
skin, and the shell is exceedingly thin and brittle. The lining 



THE CROCODILE. 523 

membrane, however, is singularly thick and tough, so that the 
egg is tolerably well defended against fracture. 

When first hatched, the young Crocodile is scarcely larger 
than a common newt, but it attains most formidable dimensions 
in a very short time. Twenty or thirty eggs are laid in one 
spot, and, were they not destroyed by sundry enemies, the 
Crocodiles would destroy every living creature in the rivers. 
Fortunately, the eggs and young have many enemies, chiefly 
among which is the well-known ichneumon, which discovers the 
place where the eggs are laid and destroys them, and eats any 
young Crocodiles that it can catch before they succeed in making 
their way to the water. 

The old writers were aware of the services rendered by the 
ichneumon, but, after their wont, exaggerated them by additions 
of their own, saying that the ichneumon enters into the mouth 
of the Crocodile as it lies asleep, and eats its way through the 
body, " putting the Crocodile to exquisite and intolerable torment, 
while the Crocodile tumbleth to and fro, sighing and weeping, 
now in the depth of water, now on the land, never resting till 
strength of nature faileth. For the incessant gnawing of the 
ichneumon so provoketh her to seek her rest in the unrest of 
every part, herb, element, throws, throbs, rollings, but all in 
vain, for the enemy within her breatheth through her breath, 
and sporteth herself in the consumption of those vital parts 
which waste and wear away by yielding to unpaciticable teeth, 
one after another, till she that crept in by stealth at the mouth, 
like a puny thief, comes out at the belly like a conqueror, 
through a passage opened by her own labour and industry." 

The author has in the long passage, a part of which is here 
quoted, mentioned that the ichneumon takes its opportunity of 
entering the jaws of the Crocodile as it lies with its mouth open 
against the beams of the sun. It is very true that the Crocodile 
does sleep with its mouth open ; and, in all probability, the 
older observers, knowing that the ichneumon did really destroy 
the eggs and young of the Crocodile, only added a little ampli- 
fication, and made up their minds that it also destroyed the 
parents. The same writer who has lately been quoted ranks the 
ibis among the enemies of the Crocodile, and says that the bird 
affects the reptile with such terror that, if but an ibis's feather 
be laid on its back, the Crocodile becomes rigid and unable to 



524 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

move. The Arabs of the present time say that the water- 
tortoises are enemies to the eggs, scratching them out of the 
sand and eating them. 

We will now pass to the description of the Crocodile in the 
Book of Job. 

In the beginning of that description, Job is asked in irony 
whether he can draw out Leviathan with a hook, or bore his 
jaw with a thorn. This is probably in allusion, not so much to 
ohe size and strength of the Crocodile, as to its cunning. At 
the present time the Arabs of the Nile assert that to catch a 
Crocodile with a hook is impossible. Mr. Lovvth suggested to 
his boatmen that, it* a large hook were baited with meat, a 
Crocodile might be caught. Yusef eagerly denied the possi- 
bility of such a capture : " Him too clever — crocodile looking 
out of his eye so " (making a squint) — " he see everything like 
one man, as crocodile like man — people thinking him was one 
man long time, very long time." 

According to Herodotus, however, the Egyptians did take the 
Crocodile with a hook, which they first baited with a small pig, 
and let into the river, and then beat another pig so as to make 
it scream. The Crocodile, hearing the cries of the pig, swims to 
seize its prey, and swallows the baited hook instead of the 
living pig. As soon as it is caught, the hunters draw it on 
shore, and when it tries to attack them, they throw sand into its 
eyes so as to blind it. It is remarkable that the Arab hunters 
of the Nile still employ sand as their best defensive weapon 
when they have harpooned a hippopotamus and dragged it to 
the bank. The animal, finding that it cannot retreat, charges 
into the men, who repel it by throwing sand into its eyes. 

The expression "boring his jaw with a thorn" probably refers 
to the fishermen's universal custom of stringing together the 
captured fish by a twig passed through the mouth. In the 
late Mr. Waterton's " Wanderings " there is an account of the 
method employed by the natives in catching the cayman, which 
is the Crocodile of tropical America. A steel hook was tried 
and found useless, but one of the natives made in a short time 
an ingenious hook, composed of four sharpened wooden spikes, 
with which he succeeded in catching the reptile, thus literally 
boring its jaw with a thorn. 



THE CBOCODILE. 525 

Allusion is made to the impenetrable character of the scale in 
verses 7, 15, 16, 17, and from verses 26 to 30. Verse 8 is given 
better in the Jewish Bible than in the Authorized Version. 
" Lay thine hand upon him, thou wilt no more remember the 
battle." The same may be said of verse 22, which is thus ren- 
dered in the Authorized Version : " In his neck remaineth 
strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him." The mar- 
ginal reading gives the last verse as " sorrow rejoiceth." Neither 
of these expressions is very intelligible, but the rendering of 
the Jewish Bible is not only clear, but forcible. " In his neck 
abideth strength, and before him danceth terror." 

In verse 13 the marginal translation is nearly the correct 
one: "Who can come to him within his doubJe bridle?" and 
the Jewish Bible gives the real meaning of the passage, showing 
that allusion is made to the double rows of teeth in both jaws, 
those of the upper interlacing into those of the lower. " Who 
would enter the double (row) in his jaw ?" this reading being 
carried out by the following verse : " Who can open the doors 
of his face ? his teeth are terrible round about " (Jewish 
Bible). 

The quick sight of the Crocodile is mentioned inverse 18, his 
eyelids being compared to the " eyes of the morning," this meta- 
phor being further illustrated by the hieroglyphs, wherein the 
eye of the Crocodile is employed as the emblem of day-dawn. 
The impossibility of domesticating this terrible reptile is shown 
in verses 4 and 5 : " Will he make many supplications unto 
thee ? Will he speak soft words unto thee ? 

" Wilt thou play with him as with a bird ? or wilt thou bind 
him for thy maidens ?" 

Allusion is evidently made to the disagreeable nature of its 
flesh, which is penetrated with a strong musky odour, in verse 6 : 
"Shall the companions make a banquet of him? Shall they 
part him among the merchants?" 

And lastly, the foam raised by the lashing of the Crocodile's 
mighty tail, and the wake that is left behind it as it urges itself 
through the water, are mentioned in verses 31 and 32. 

It is not unlikely that the word Leviathan also signified any 
of the larger inhabitants of the waters, whether marine or 
reptile, and that a whale or a Crocodile would be equally called 



526 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

by that name. In this sense we must interpret the well-known 
passage, Ps. civ. 24 — 26 : 

" Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in wisdom hast Thou 
made them all : the earth is full of Thy riches. 

"So is this great and wide sea" (i.e. the Mediterranean), 
" wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great 
beasts. 

" There go the ships : there is that Leviathan, whom Thou 
hast made to play therein." In this passage the writer points 
to some large inhabitant of the Mediterranean, or the Great 
Sea, as it is called in Scripture, to distinguish it from the Sea o 1 ' 
Galilee, and the only creature which would answer to the allu- 
sion must be one of the larger cetacean. 

We also find that the Crocodile must be signified by the 
Hebrew word tannin, which occurs in several parts of Scripture 
and which is sometimes translated as " dragon," and sometimes as 
" serpent," and sometimes as " whale." For example, in Exod. vii. 
10, we find the w T ell-known passage which relates the changing of 
Aaron's rod into a Tannin, or serpent, as the Authorized Version 
translates it. The Jewish Bible, however, simply renders the 
word as " huge creature." Next, we come to Deut. xxxii. 33 : 
"Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of 
asps." This passage is rendered in the Jewish Bible as " Their 
wine is the fury of huge creatures, and the cruel venom [or head] 
of asps." 

The same word occurs in Job vii. 12 : " Am I a sea, or a 
whale [tannin], that thou settest a watch over me ?•" We also 
find it in Jer. ix. 11 : " And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a 
den of dragons [tannin] ; " and the same image is repeated in 
x. 22 : " Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great 
commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah 
desolate, and a den of dragons" The same prophet again 
repeats the word in xiv. 6 : " The wild asses did stand in the 
high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons." 

There is nothing in any of these passages which would give 
any clue as to the creature that was signified by the word 
tannin, but we obtain a clue to it in Ezek. xxix. 2—5 : " Son of 
man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy 
against him, and against all Egypt : 



THE CROCODILE. 527 

'• Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, 1 am 
against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth 
in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine 
own, and I have made it for myself. 

" But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish 
of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales ; and I will bring thee up 
out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers 
shall stick unto thy scales. 

" And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and 
all the fish of thy rivers : thou shalt fall upon the open fields ; 
thou shalt not be brought together nor gathered : I have given 
tnee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the fowls of the 
heaven." 

See also xxxii. 2, 3 : " Son of man, take up a lamentation 
lor Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a 
young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale [tannin] in 
the seas ; and thou earnest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst 
the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 

" Thus saith the Lord God, I will therefore spread out my net 
over thee with a company of many people ; and they shall 
bring thee up in my net." 

There is a peculiar significance in the comparison of Pharaoh 
to the Crocodile. It is the master and terror of the Nile, of 
whom all animals stand in fear. It is ravenous, crafty, fierce, 
and relentless, keen-eyed to espy prey, and swift to devour it. 
Yet, in spite of all these evil qualities, the Egyptians venerated 
it, pampered it, hung it with costly jewels, and paid divine 
honours to it, exactly as they considered their despotic sovereign 
as a demigod during his life, and honoured him with an apo- 
theosis after his death. 

Like the Crocodile, secure in his scaly armour, Pharaoh 
thought himself invincible, but, though man could not conquer 
him, God could do so. Man could not " put a hook into his 
nose, or bore his jaws through with a thorn " (Job xli. 2) ; but 
tins JLord could " put hooks in his jaws, and bring him up out of 
the midst of his rivers, and give him for meat to the beasts of 
the held and the fowls of the heaven." 

Taking also the Tannin of Exod. vii. to be the Crocodile, we 
see how appropriate were all the circumstances. The miracle 
was performed in the presence of Pharaoh, who is afterwards 



528 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

spoken of under the emblem of the "dragon {tannin) that 
lieth in the midst of the river." The rod of the future high 
priest of the Lord was changed into the Crocodile, which was 
worshipped by the Egyptian priests and magicians ; and when 
they imitated the miracle, Aaron's rod swallowed up those of 
the heathen in token that the Lord would destroy idolatry. 

It is worthy of mention here that, although in the Authorized 
Version of the Scriptures, the rods of both Moses and Aaron 
are mentioned as having been changed into serpents, the words 
which are translated as serpents are different. The rod of 
4aron, the priest, was turned into a Tannin, i.e. Crocodile ; that 
of Moses, the lawgiver, into a Nachash or serpent. 

There is one passage which seems to imply that the word 
tannin may signify a cetacean. It occurs in Lam. iv. 3 : " Even 
the sea-monsters [tannin] draw out the breast, they give suck to 
their young ones." If the sacred writers were aware that the 
cetaceans were mammals and suckled their young, and that the 
Crocodile left its offspring to find food for themselves, there 
would be no doubt on the subject. But it is not at all likely 
that the Prophet Jeremiah, his soul torn by the crimes of his 
country and the calamities which he foresaw, persecuted by his 
own people, his life endangered by the forebodings that he was 
compelled to utter, imprisoned, exiled, and at last dying in 
a strange land, would have been versed in natural history, or 
would have troubled himself to inquire as to the manner in 
which the young of the Crocodile were fed. The sense of the 
passage is plain enough, and contains a rebuke to the people in 
that they neglect their children, and were worse than the ferocious 
inhabitants of the water, as we shall see on reading the whole 
of the passage : " Even the sea-monster draws out the breast ; 
they give suck to their young ones : the daughter of my people 
is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 

" The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his 
mouth for thirst; the young children ask bread, and no mar 
breaketh it unto them." 



THE LETAAH OR LIZARD. 

Difficulty of identifying the Letaah — Probability that it is a collective and not a 
specific term — Various Lizards of Palestine — The Green or Jersey Lizard — The 
Cyprius, its appearance and habits — The Glass Snake or Scheltopusic — Trans- 
lation of the word chomet — Probability that it signifies the Skink — Medicinal 
uses of the Lizard — The Seps tribe — The common Cicigna, and the popular 
belief concerning its habits — The Sphamops and its shallow tunnel. 

In Leviticus xi. 30, the word Lizaed is used as the rendering of 
the Hebrew word letddh (pronounced as L'tah-ah). There are 
one or two difficulties about the word, but, without going into 
the question of etymology, which is beside the object of this 
work, it will be sufficient to state that the best authorities accept 
the rendering, and that in the Jewish Bible the word Lizard is 
retained, but with the mark of doubt appended to it. 

In all probability, the sacred lawgiver employs the word 
letddh as a general term ; so that, although he prohibits certain 
Lizards by name, as having been used for food by the various 
nations with whom the Israelites were necessarily brought in 
contact during their captivity, their wanderings, and their final 
conquest of Palestine, he implies that the whole of the Lizard 
tribe are to be considered as unfit to be eaten by the chosen 
people. 

We shall presently examine some of those which are pro- 
hibited by name, and it will be sufficient in the present case to 
glance at the Lizard tribes of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. 

These lands absolutely swarm with Lizards. Even in our own 
country, Lizards are far more common than is generally known. 
I have caused the greatest surprise in an agricultural county 
by catching and showing to the field-labourers the common 
Scaly Lizard (Zootoca vivipara). The little reptile was exceed- 
ingly plentiful, and yet not one of the labourers, nor even their 
employers, had seen it. 
35 



530 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



In warmer parts of the earth, the Lizards are so numerous and 
so comparatively large that they force themselves upon the 
notice. For example, the well-known Green or Jersey Lizard 
(Laeerta viridis) is exceedingly plentiful, and may be seen darting 
among the leaves in search of prey, after the erratic manner of 
Lizards generally, which will remain absolutely motionless for 




THE CYPRIUS, OR LIZARD OF SORIPTURS. 

And tlve ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the ,iiole." — Lkvit. xi. 30. 



hours together,, then whisk about so rapidly that the eye can 
scarcely follow their movements, and subside into quiescence as 
suddenly as they started from it. 

In many parts of the world, especially in France, where the 
terror inspired by nearly all reptiles is really ludicrous, this 
beautiful and harmless creature is feared as if -'twere a venomous 
serpent, and, to judge from experience, I doubt whether a cobra 
nr a rattlesnake would excite more horror than a Green Lizard. 



A very common species of Lizard, and therefore likely to be 
one of those which are grouped under the common name of Leta&h, 



THE LIZARD. 531 

is the Cypeius (Plestiodon auratum). This handsome Lizard ig 
golden-yellow in colour, beautifully spotted with orange and 
scarlet, and may be distinguished, even when the colours have 
fled after death, by the curiously formed ears, which are strongly 
toothed in front. It is very plentiful in Palestine, and, like 
others of its kin, avoids cultivated tracts, and is generally found 
on rocky and sandy soil which cannot be tilled. It is active, 
and, if alarmed, hides itself quickly in the sand or under stones. 

It belongs to the great family of the Skinks, many of which, 
like the familiar blind-worm of our own country, are without 
external legs, and, though true Lizards, progress in a snake-like 
manner, and are generally mistaken for snakes. One of these is 
the Glass Snake or Scheltopusic (Pseudopus pallasii), which 
has two very tiny hind legs, but which is altogether so snake- 
like that it is considered by the natives to be really a serpent. 
They may well be excused for their error, as the only external 
indications of limbs are a pair of slightly-projecting scales at the 
place where the hind legs would be in a fully-developed Lizard. 

Though tolerably plentiful, the Scheltopusic is not very often 
seen, as it is timid and wary, and, when it suspects danger, glides 
away silently into some place of safety. When adult, the colour 
of this Lizard is usually chestnut, profusely mottled with black 
or deep brown, the edge of each scale being of the darker colour. 
It feeds upon insects and small reptiles, and has been known to 
devour a nest full of young birds. 

In Levit. xi. 30 is a Hebrew word, chomet, which is given in 
the Authorized Version as Snail. There is, however, no doubt 
that the word is wrongly translated, and that by it some species 
of Lizard is signified. The Jewish Bible follows the Authorized 
Version, but affixes the mark of doubt to the word. There is 
another word. shcMul, which undoubtedly does signify the snail, 
and will be mentioned in its proper place. 

It is most probable that the word chomet includes, among 
other Lizards, many of the smaller Skinks which inhabit Pales- 
tine. Among them we may take as an example the Common 
Skink (Scincus officinalis), a reptile which derives its specific 
name from the fact that it was formerly used in medicine, 
together with mummy, and the other disgusting ingredients 
which formed the greater part of the old Pharmacopoeia. 



532 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Even at the present day, it is used for similar purposes in the 
East, and is in consequence captured for the use of physicians, 
the body being simply dried in the sun, and then sent to market 
for sale. It is principally employed for the cure of sunstroke, 
nettle-rash, sand-blindness, or fever, and both patient and physi- 
cian have the greatest confidence in its powers. It is said by 
some European physicians that the flesh of the Skink really 
does possess medicinal powers, and that it has fallen into dis- 
repute chiefly because those powers have been exaggerated. In 
former days, the head and feet were thought to possess the 
greatest efficacy, and were valued accordingly. 

Like all its tribe, the Skink loves sandy localities, the soil 
exactly suiting its peculiar habits. Although tolerably active, it 
does not run so fast or so far as many other Lizards, and, when 
alarmed, it has «i peculiar faculty for sinking itself almost instan- 
taneously under the sand, much after the fashion of the shore- 
crabs of our own country. Indeed, it is even more expeditious 
than the crab, which occupies some little time in burrowing 
under the wet and yielding sand, whereas the Skink slips 
beneath the dry and comparatively hard sand with such rapidity 
that it seems rather to be diving into a nearly excavated burrow 
than to be scooping a hollow for itself. 

The sand is therefore a place of safety to the Skink, which 
does not, like the crab, content itself with merely burying its 
body just below the surface, but continues to burrow, sinking 
itself in a few seconds to the depth of nearly a yard. 

The length of the Skink is about eight inches, and its very 
variable colour is generally yellowish brown, crossed with several 
dark bands. Several specimens, however, are spotted instead of 
banded with brown, while some are banded with white, and 
others are spotted with white. In all, however, the under- 
snrface is silver grey. 

It has been thought by several zoologists, that several of the 
Lizards belonging to the Seps family may be included in the 
general term of Chomet. 

This theory is strengthened by the fact that those of the 
Sepsidae which have no visible feet, and which, after the custom 
of such Lizards, burrow in the sand, are even at the present day 
eaten by Arabs, under the convenient title of Sand-fishes. 



THE LIZAUD. 533 

Several species of the Sepsidae inhabit Egypt, Palestine, and 
Syria, and of these we will take two as examples. 

The first is the Common Seps or Cicigna (Seps tridactylis), a 
nearly legless Lizard, having a very long and snake-like body, 
and four legs, so small and feeble as to be of scarcely any use 
in locomotion. 

It bears some resemblance to the blindworm of England, 
feeds on much the same diet, and has similar habits. It is per- 
fectly harmless, its teeth being too small, and its jaws too feeble, 
to hurt any creature larger than those on which it feeds ; but, 
like the blindworm, it is much dreaded by the ignorant, who 
believe that it steals upon hoises and other cattle by night, and 
bites them as they sleep. 

Like other Lizards of its kind, it is one of the sand-lovers, 
burying itself when it suspects danger. 

The second example of the Sepsidas is one that has its chief 
home in Egypt, This is the Capistrated Sph^enops (Sphcenops 
sepsoides). This reptile is also a burrower, but does not sink so 
deeply into the sand as those Lizards which have just been 
noticed. Indeed, it scarcely burrows deeply enough to cover it, 
so that with the foot the sand may be scraped off, and the 
reptile discovered. 

Sometimes it has recourse to a substitute for a tunnel, and 
will crawl along the deep rut made by a cart-wheel rather than 
take the trouble of excavating a passage for itself. In conse- 
quence of this peculiarity, it may generally be found in any 
ridged ground, such as that which is employed in the cultivation 
of rice and other grain, and, as it prefers to follow the course of 
the ridges rather than leave them, it may be taken without 
much trouble. It is perfectly harmless, and, although when 
taken it struggles violently to escape, it never employs its teeth 
on the hand that holds it. The colour of the Sphasnops is pale 
brown, diversified witb a black stripe on either side of the 
muzzle, and a longitudinal series of black dots along the body. 
The tail is conical and pointed. 



534 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE CHAMELEON, MONITOR, AND GECKO. 

Translation of the word Koach — Signification of the word, and its applicability to 
the Chameleon — Power of the reptile's grasp — -The prehensile tail — Demeanour 
of the Chameleon on the ground — The independent eyes — Its frequent change 
of colour — Mode of taking prey — Strange notions respecting the Chameleon — 
The Monitor, or Land Crocodile — Its habits and use to mankind — The Nilotic 
Monitor, and its habit of destroying the eggs and young of the Crocodile — 
The Gecko or Ferret of Scripture. 

In Levit. xi. 30 there occurs a word which has caused great 
trouble to commentators. The word is koach (pronounced as a 
dissyllable thus, ko-ach). Primarily, it signifies power and 
strength, but in this passage it signifies the name of some 
creature which is included in the list of unclean beasts. There 
is very little doubt that it signifies some species of lizard, and 
in the Authorized Version it is rendered as Chameleon. The 
Jewish Bible accepts the same translation, but appends to it the 
mark of doubt. 

There are two lizards to which the term may possibly be 
applied — namely, the Chameleon and the Monitor ; and, as the 
Authorized Version of the Scriptures accepts the former inter- 
pretation, we will first describe the Chameleon. 

This reptile is very plentiful in the Holy Land, as well as in 
Egypt, so that the Israelites would be perfectly familiar with it, 
both during their captivity and after their escape. It is but a 
small reptile, and the reader may well ask why a name denoting 
strength should be given to it. I think that we may find the 
reason for its name in the extraordinary power of its grasp, as it 
is able, by means of its peculiarly -formed feet and prehensile tail, 
to grasp the branches so tightly that it can scarcely be removed 
without damage. 

I once saw six or seven Chameleons huddled up together, all 
having clasped each other's legs and tails so firmly that they 



THE CHAMELEON 



536 



formed a bundle that might be rolled along the ground without 
being broken up. In order to show the extraordinary power of 
the Chameleon's grasp, I have had a figure drawn from a sketch 







QECKO AND CHAMELEON 

"And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the- lizard, and the snail, and the mole." — Levit. xi. SO. 



taken by myself from a specimen which I kept for several 
months. 

When the Chameleon wished to pass from one branch to 
another, it used to hold firmly to the branch by the tail and one 
hind-foot, and stretch out its body nearly horizontally, feeling 
about with the other three feet, as if in search of a convenient 
resting-place. In this curious attitude it would remain for a 
considerable time, apparently suffering no inconvenience, though 



536 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

even the spider-monkey would have been unable to maintain 
such an attitude for half the length of time. 

The strength of the grasp is really astonishing wheu con- 
trasted with the size of the reptile, as any one will find who 
allows the Chameleon to grasp his ringer, or who tries to detach 
it from the branch to which it is clinging. The feet are most 
curiously made. They are furnished with five toes, which are 
arranged like those of parrots and other climbing birds, so as to 
close upon each other like the thumb and ringer of a human 
hand. They are armed with little yellow claws, slightly curved 
and very sharp, and when they grasp the skin of the hand they 
give it an unpleasantly sharp pinch. 

The tail is as prehensile as that of the spider-monkey, to 
which the Chameleon bears a curious resemblance in some of 
its attitudes, though nothing can be more different than the 
volatile, inquisitive, restless disposition of the spider- monkey 
and the staid, sober demeanour of the Chameleon. The reptile 
has the power of guiding the tail to any object as correctly as if 
there were an eye at the end of the tail. When it has been 
travelling over the branches of trees, I have often seen it direct 
its tail to a projecting bud, and grasp it as firmly as if the bud 
had been before and not behind it. 

Sometimes, when it rests on a branch, it allows the tail to 
hang down as a sort of balance, the tip coiling and uncoiling 
unceasingly. But, as soon as the reptile wishes to move, the 
tail is tightened to the branch, and at once coiled round it. 
There really seems to be almost a separate vitality and con- 
sciousness on the part of the tail, which glides round an object 
as if it were acting with entire independence of its owner. 

On the ground the Chameleon fares but poorly. Its walk is 
absolutely ludicrous, and an experienced person might easily 
fail to identify a Chameleon when walking with the same 
animal on a branch. It certainly scrambles along at a toler- 
able rate, but it is absurdly awkward, its legs sprawling 
widely on either side, and its feet grasping futilely at every 
step. The tail, which is usually so lithe and nimble, is then 
held stiffly from the body, with a slight curve upwards. 

The eyes are strange objects, projecting far from the head, 
and each acting quite independently of the other, so that one 
eye may often be directed forwards, and the other backwards. 



THE CHAMELEON. 537 

The eyeballs are covered with a thick wrinkled skin, except a 
small aperture at the tip, which can be opened and closed like 
our own eyelids. 

The changing colour of the Chameleon has been long known, 
though there are many mistaken ideas concerning it. 

The reptile does not necessarily assume the colour of any 
object on which it is placed, but sometimes takes a totally 
different colour. Thus, if my Chameleon happened to come 
upon any scarlet substance, the colour immediately became 
black, covered with innumerable circular spots of light yellow. 
The change was so instantaneous that, as it crawled on the 
scarlet cloth, the colour would alter, and the fore-part of the 
body would be covered with yellow spots, while the hinder 
parts retained their dull black. Scarlet always annoyed the 
Chameleon, and it tried to escape whenever it found itself 
near any substance of the obnoxious hue. 

The normal colour was undoubtedly black, with a slight tinge 
of grey. But in a short time the whole creature would become 
a vivid verdigris green, and, while the spectator was watching it, 
the legs would become banded with rings of bright yellow, and 
spots and streaks of the same colour would appear on the head 
and body. 

When it was excited either by anger or by expectation — as, 
for example, when it heard a large fly buzzing near it — the 
colours were singularly beautiful, almost exactly resembling in 
hue and arrangement those of the jaguar. Of all the colours, 
green seemed generally to predominate, but the creature would 
pass so rapidly from one colour to another that it was scarcely 
possible to follow the various gradations of hue. 

Some persons have imagined that the variation of colour 
depends on the wants and passions of the animal. This is not 
the case. The change is often caused by mental emotion, but is 
not dependent on it ; and I believe that the animal has no 
control whatever over its colour. The best proof of this assertion 
mav be found in the fact that my own Chameleon changed 
colour several times after its death ; and, indeed, as long as 
I had the dead body before me, changes of hue were taking 
place. 

The food of the Chameleon consists of insects, mostly flies, 
which it catches by means of its tongue, which can be protruded 



538 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

to an astonishing distance. The tongue is nearly cylindrical, 
and is furnished at the tip with a slight cavity, which is filled 
with a very glutinous secretion. When the Chameleon sees a 
fly or other insect, it gently protrudes the tongue once or twice, 
as if taking aim, like a billiard-player with his cue, and then, 
with a moderately smart stroke, carries off the insect on the 
glutinous tip of the tongue. The force with which the Chameleon 
strikes is really wonderful. My own specimen used to look for 
flies from my hand, and at first I was as much surprised with 
the force of the blow struck by the tongue as I was with the 
grasping power of the feet. 

Among the wild legends with which the earlier naturalists 
adorned their accounts of all animals with which they were not 
personally familiar, those of the Chameleon are not the least 
curious. " Themselves," writes Topsel, an author of the sixteenth 
century, " are very gentle, never exasperated but when they are 
about wilde fig-trees. 

" They have for their enemies the serpent, the crow, and the 
hawk. When the hungry serpent doth assault them, they 
defend themselves in this manner, as Alexander Mindius writeth. 
They take in their mouths a broad and strong stalk, under pro- 
tection of which, as under a buckler, they defend themselves 
against their enemy the serpent, by reason that the stalk is 
broader than the serpent can gripe in his mouth, and the other 
parts of the chamseleon so firm and hard as the serpent cannot 
hurt them : he laboureth but in vain to get a prey, so long as 
the stalk is in the chamaeleon's mouth. 

" But if the chamaeleon at any time see a serpent taking the 
air, and sunning himself under some green tree, he climbeth up 
into that tree, and setteth himself directly over the serpent ; then 
out of his mouth he casteth a thread, like a spider, at the end of 
which hangeth a drop of poyson as bright as any pearl ; by this 
string he letteth down the poyson upon the serpent, which, 
lighting upon it, killeth it immediately. 

" And Scaliger reporteth a greater wonder than this in the 
description of the chamreleon ; for he saith, if the boughs of the 
tree so grow as the perpendicular line cannot fall directly upon 
the serpent, then he so correcteth and guideth it with his fore- 
feet that it falleth upon the serpent within the mark of a hair's 
breadth. 



THE MONITOR. 539 

" The raven and the crow are also at variance with the cha- 
maeleon, and so great is the adverse nature betwixt these twain, 
that if the crow eat of the chamaeleon being slain by him, he 
dyeth for it except he recover his life by a bay -leaf, even as the 
elephant, after he hath devoured a chamaeleon, saveth his life by 
eating of the wilde olive-tree. 

" But the greatest wonder of all is the hostility which Pliny 
reporteth to be betwixt the chamaeleon and the hawk. For he 
writeth that when a hawk flyeth over a chamaeleon, she hath 
no power to resist the chamaeleon, but falleth down before it, 
yeelding botli her life and her limbs to be devoured by it, and 
thus that devourer that liveth upon the prey and blood of others 
hath no power to save her own life from this little beast." 

It may here be remarked that the frog was said to save itself 
from the water-ducks by seizing a stick crosswise in its mouth, 
so that when the duck came to seize its prey, the stick came 
across the angles of the jaws, and prevented the frog from being 
swallowed. 

So much for the Chameleon. We will now take the Nilotic 
Monitor (Hydrosaurus niloticus) and the Land Monitor (Psam- 
mosaurus scincus), the other reptiles which have been conjectured 
to be the real representatives of the Koach. 

These lizards attain to some size, the former sometimes mea- 
suring six feet in length, and the latter but a foot or so less. Of 
the two, the Land Monitor, being the more common, both in 
Palestine and Egypt, has perhaps the best claim to be considered 
as the Koach of Scripture. It is sometimes called the Land 
Crocodile. It is a carnivorous animal, feeding upon other rep- 
tiles and the smaller mammalia, and is very fond of the eggs of 
the crocodile, which it destroys in great numbers, and is in con- 
sequence much venerated by the inhabitants of the country 
about the Nile. 

The theory that this reptile may be the Koach of Leviticus is 
strengthened by the fact that even at the present day it is 
cooked and eaten by the natives, whereas the chameleon is so 
small and. bony that scarcely any one would take the trouble of 
cooking it. 

The Nilotic Monitor shares the same habit of devouring 
crocodiles' eggs, and consequently shares the respect of those 



540 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

who are endangered by the crocodile. It even eats the young 
crocodiles after they are hatched, chasing them through the 
water, and capturing them by means of its superior swiftness. 
It may be distinguished from the Land Monitor by the elevated 
keel which runs along the whole of the spine from the neck to 
the very end of the long tail. The general colour of the Nilotic 
Monitor is olive-grey, mottled with black. On the back of the 
neck are a series of curved bands of a whitish yellow. 

It is mentioned on page 69, that the word an&kah, which is 
translated as " ferret " in Levit. xi. 30, is certainly a lizard, and in 
all probability is one of the Geckos. I have therefore introduced 
into the same illustration on page 535 the commonest species of 
Gecko found in Palestine. The reader will observe the flat, fan- 
like expansions at the ends of the toes, by which it is able to 
adhere to flat surfaces. 



SERPENTS. 



Serpents in general — Signification of the Hebrew word Nachash — Various passages 
in which the Nachash is mentioned — The fiery Serpents of the wilderness — 
Explanation of the words "flying " and " fiery " as applied to Serpents — Haunts 
of the Serpent — The Cobra, or Asp of Scripture — Meaning of the word Pethen 
— The deaf Adder that stoppeth her ear — Serpent-charming in the East — Prin- 
ciple on which the charmers work— Sluggishness of the Serpent nature — 
Ceremony of initiation into Serpent-charming — Theories respecting the deaf 
Adder — Luis of Grenada's sermon — The Cerastes, or Horned Serpent — Appear- 
ance and habits of the reptile — The " Adder in the path." 

As we have seen that so much looseness of nomenclature pre- 
vailed among the Hebrews even with regard to the mammalia, 
birds, and lizards, we can but expect that the names of the 
Serpents will be equally difficult to identify. 

No less than seven names are employed in the Old Testament 
to denote some species of Serpent ; but there are only two which 
can be identified with any certainty, four others being left to 



SERPENTS. 541 

mere conjecture, and one being clearly a word which, like our 
snake or serpent, is a word not restricted to any particular 
species, but signifying Serpents in general. This word is ndcltdsk 
(pronounced nah-kahsh). It is unfortunate that the word is so 
variously translated in different passages of Scripture, and we 
cannot do better than to follow it through the Old Testament, so 
as to bring all the passages under our glance. 

The first mention of the Nachash occurs in Gen. iii., in the 
well-known passage where the Serpent is said to be more subtle 
than all the beasts of the field, the wisdom or subtlety of the 
Serpent having evidently an allegorical and not a categorical 
signification. We find the same symbolism employed in the 
New Testament, the disciples of our Lord being told to be * wise 
as serpents, and harmless as doves." 

Allusion is made to the gliding movement of the Serpent tribe 
in Prov. xxx. 19. On this part of the subject little need be said, 
except that the movements of the Serpent are owing to the 
mobility of the ribs, which are pushed forward in succession and 
drawn back again, so as to catch against any inequality of the 
ground. This power is increased by the structure of the scales. 
Those of the upper part of the body, which are not used for 
locomotion, are shaped something like the scales of a fish; but 
those of the lower part of the body, which come in contact with 
the ground, are broad belts, each overlapping the other, and each 
connected with one pair of ribs. 

When, therefore, the Serpent pushes forward the ribs, the 
edges of the scaly belts will catch against the slightest pro- 
jection, and are able to give a very powerful impetus to the 
body. It is scarcely possible to drag a snake backwards over 
rough ground ; while on a smooth surface, such as glass, the 
Serpent would be totally unable to proceed. This, however, was 
not likely to have been studied by the ancient Hebrews, who 
were among the most unobservant of mankind with regard to 
details of natural history : it is, therefore, no wonder that the 
gliding of the Serpent should strike the writer of the proverb in 
question as a mystery which he could not explain. 

The poisonous nature of some of the Serpents is mentioned in 
several passages of Scripture ; and it will be seen that the ancient 
Hebrews, like many modern Europeans, believed that the poison 
lay in the forked tongue. See, for example, Ps. lviii. 4 : " Their 



542 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



poison is like the poison of a serpent" (ndchdsh). Also Prov. 
xxiii. 32, in which the sacred writer says of wine that it brings 
woe, sorrow, contentions, wounds without cause, redness of eyes, 
and that " at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like 
an adder." 




COBRA AND CERASTES, THE ASP AND ADDER OF SCRIPTURE. 

' They are like the deaf asp (marginal translation) that stoppeth her ear,- which will net hearken to 

the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." — Ps. lviii. 4, 5. 
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path." — Gen. xlix. 17. 



The idea that the poison of the Serpent lies in the tongue is 
seen in several passages of Scripture. " They have sharpened 
their tongues like a serpent ; adders' poison is under their lips " 
(Ps. cxl. 3). Also in Job xx. 16, the sacred writer says of the 
hypocrite, that " he shall suck the poison of asps : the viper's 
tongue shall slay him.'' 



SERPENTS. 543 

As to the fiery Serpents of the wilderness, it is scarcely needful 
to mention that the epithet of " fiery " does not signify that the 
Serpents in question produced real fire from their mouths, but 
that allusion is made to the power and virulence of their poison, 
and to the pain caused by their bite. We ourselves naturally 
employ a similar metaphor, and speak of a " burning pain," of 
a " fiery trial," of " hot anger," and the like. 

The epithet of " flying " which is applied to these Serpents is 
explained by the earlier commentators as having reference to a 
Serpent which they called the Dart Snake, and which they 
believed to lie in wait for men and to spring at them from a 
distance. They thought that this snake hid itself either in 
hollows of the ground or in trees, and sprang through the air for 
thirty feet upon any man or beast that happened to pass by. 

" And surely if it be lawful to conjecture what kinds of 
Serpents those were which in the Scripture were called Fiery 
Serpents, and did sting the Israelites to death in the Wildernesse, 
until the Brazen Serpent was erected for their cure ; among all 
the Serpents in the world, that kind of death and pain can be 
ascribed to none more properly than to these Cafezati, or Eed- 
dart Serpents. 

" For first, the Wildernesse, which was the place wherein they 
annoyed the people, doth very well agree to their habitation. 
Secondly, the Fiery Serpents are so called by figure, not that they 
are fiery, but, as all Writers do agree, either because they were 
red like fire ; or else because the pain which they inflicted did 
burn like fire, or rather for both these causes together, which are 
joyntly and severally found in these Red Serpents. And therefore 
I will conclude for my opinion, that these Serpents (as the 
highest poyson in nature) were sent by God to afflict the sinning 
Israelites, whose poyson was uncurable, except by Divine 
miracle." 

The places in which the Serpent is accustomed to lie are 
mentioned in various portions of the Old Testament. The habit 
of lying in hedges is mentioned in Ecclesiastes. " He that 
diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, 
a serpent shall bite him" (Eccles. x. 8). The Prophet Amos 
alludes to its custom of haunting the walls of houses (see v. 
18, 19) : " The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. 

u As if a mau did flee from a lion, and a bear met him ; or 



544 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a 
serpent bit him." This passage refers also to the ordinary 
architecture of the East, the walls of common houses, such as 
those with which a herdman like Amos would be most familiar, 
being little more than hurdles covered with mud. Such walls 
would soon fall into disrepair, and would be full of holes, in 
which spiders, centipedes, lizards, and serpents hide themselves. 

We will now take the various species of Serpents mentioned 
in the Bible, as nearly as they can be identified. 

Of one species there is no doubt whatever. This is the Cobra 
{Naja haje), a serpent which is evidently signified by the Hebrew 
word petlwn. 

There are several passages in which this word occurs, nearly 
all of which contain some allusion to its poisonous nature, and 
one of them mentioning a characteristic which settles its identity 
beyond doubt. 

In the very beginning of the Scriptural books we find a 
reference to the Pethen. The first occurs in Deut. xxxii. 33 : 
" Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of 
Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are 
bitter : 

" Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of 
asps" (pethenim). 

Next we come to the passage in Job xx. 14 — 16 : " Yet his 
meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps {pethenim) 
within him. 

" He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them 
up again : God shall cast them out of his belly. 

" He shall suck the poison of asps {pethenim) : the viper's 
(epheh) tongue shall slay him." 

These passages clearly indicate the venomous nature of the 
Pethen, and there is another which occurs in Isaiah, in which the 
same quality is inferred though not directly stated. It occurs 
in chap, xi., which is devoted to a prophecy of the spiritual reign 
of the Messiah, and in which is found that allusion to Himself 
which our Lord quoted in the Temple (see ver. 2). The passage 
with which we have now to do occurs in verse 8 : " And the 
sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp (iiethcn), and the 
weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." 



SERPENTS. 54fi 

We may also find a passage in the Psalms, in which the Pethen 
is classed with the lion as being equally to be dreaded by the 
traveller. " Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder {pethen), 
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." 

All these passages agree in one point, namely, that the Pethen 
is a creature the bite of which is exceedingly venomous, but 
there is nothing in them to assist us in identifying it. The 
Pethen may be, as far as these passages are concerned, any kind 
of venomous Serpent. But there is just one allusion to the 
Pethen which enables us to decide at once as to its identity. It 
occurs in Ps. lviii. 3 — 5 : " The wicked are estranged from the 
womb : they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 

" Their poison is like the poison of a serpent : they are like the 
deaf adder {pethen) that stoppeth her ear ; 

" Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming 
never so wisely." The last verse is rendered rather differently 
in the Jewish Bible : " Which will not hearken to the voice of 
whisperers, the cunning master of charms." 

Here we have a clue to the identification of the Pethen. It is 
evidently a Serpent that was accustomed to be subjected to the 
action of charmers ; and as we find that in the olden times and 
at the present day the cobra, a most venomous Serpent, was and 
is tamed by professional charmers, there is no doubt that the 
Egyptian cobra is the Pethen of Scripture. I say the Egyptian 
cobra, because there is a closely allied species, the cobra of 
India {Naja tripudians), which very much resembles the Naja 
haje, and which is also tamed by serpent-charmers. A passing 
allusion to this custom in taming Serpents is made by St. James 
in his General Epistle, chap. iii. 7 : " For every kind of beasts, 
and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, 
and hath been tamed by mankind : 

" But the tongue can no man tame ; it is an unruly evil, full 
of deadly poison." 

How the serpent-charmers perform their feats is not very 
intelligible. That they handle the most venomous Serpents with 
perfect impunity is evident enough, and it is also clear that they 
are able to produce certain effects upon the Serpents by means 
of musical (or unmusical) sounds. But these two items are 
entirely distinct, and one does not depend upon the other. 

In the first place, the handling of venomous snakes has been 



546 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

performed by Englishmen without the least recourse to any 
arts except that of acquaintance with the habits of Serpents. 
The late Mr. Waterton, for example, would take up a rattlesnake 
in his bare hand without feeling the least uneasy as to the 
behaviour of his prisoner. He once took twenty-seven rattle- 
snakes out of a box, carried them into another room, put them 
into a large glass case, and afterwards replaced them in the 
box. He described to me the manner in which he did it, using 
my wrist as the representative of the Serpent. 

The nature of all Serpents is rather peculiar, and is probably 
owing to the mode in which the blood circulates. They are 
extremely unwilling to move, except when urged by the wants of 
nature, and will lie coiled up for many hours together when 
not pressed by hunger. Consequently, when touqhed, their 
feeling is evidently like that of a drowsy man, who only tries 
to shake off the object which may rouse him, and composes 
himself afresh to sleep. 

A quick and sudden movement would, however, alarm the 
reptile, which would strike in self-defence, and, sluggish as are 
its general movements, its stroke is delivered with such light- 
ning rapidity that it would be sure to inflict its fatal wound 
before it was seized. If, therefore, Mr. Waterton saw a Serpent 
which he desired to catch, he would creep very quietly up to it, 
and with a gentle, slow 7 movement place his fingers round its 
neck just behind the head. If it happened to be coiled up in 
such a manner that he could not get at its neck, he had only to 
touch it gently until it moved sufficiently for his purpose. 

When he had once placed his hand on the Serpent, it was 
in his power. He would then grasp it very lightly indeed, 
and raise it gently from the ground, trusting that the reptile 
would be more inclined to be carried quietly than to summon 
up sufficient energy to bite. Even if it had tried to use its 
fangs, it could not have done so as long as its captor's fingers 
were round its neck. 

As a rule, a great amount of provocation is needed before u 
venomous Serpent will use its teeth. One of my friends, when 
a boy, caught a viper, mistaking it for a common snake. He 
tied it round his neck, coiled it on his wrist by way of a bracelet, 
and so took it home, playing many similar tricks with it as he 
went. After arrival in the house, he produced the viper for the 



SERPENTS. 647 

amusement of his brothers and sisters, and, after repeating his 
performances, tried to tie the snake in a double knot. This, 
however, was enough to provoke the most pacific of creatures, 
and in consequence he received a bite on his finger. 

There is no doubt that the snake-charmers trust chiefly to 
this sluggish nature of the reptile, but they certainly go through 
some ceremonies by which they believe themselves to be ren- 
dered impervious to snake-bites. They will coil the cobra round 
their naked bodies, they will irritate the reptile until it is in a 
state of fury ; they will even allow it to bite them, and yet be 
none the worse for the wound. Then, as if to show that the 
venomous teeth have not been abstracted, as is possibly sup- 
posed to be the case, they will make the cobra bite a fowl, 
which speedily dies from the effects of the poison. 

Even if the fangs were extracted, the Serpents would lose 
little of their venomous power. These reptiles are furnished 
with a whole series of fangs in different stages of development, 
so that when the one in use is broken or shed in the course of 
nature, another comes forward and fills its place. There is now 
before me a row of four fangs, which I took from the right 
upper jawbone of a viper caught in the New Forest. 

In her interesting " Letters from Egypt," Lady Duff-Gordon 
gives an amusing account of the manner in which she was 
formally initiated into the mysteries of snake-charming, and 
made ever afterwards impervious to the bite of venomous 
Serpents : — 

11 At Kom Omboo, we met with a Eifaee darweesh with his 
basket of tame snakes. After a little talk, he proposed to 
initiate me : and so we sat down and held hands like people 
marrying. Omar [her attendant] sat behind me, and repeated 
the words as my 'wakeel.' Then the Eifaee twisted a cobra 
round our joined hands, and requested me to spit on it ; he did 
the same, and I was pronounced safe and enveloped in snakes. 
My sailors groaned, and Omar shuddered as the snakes put out 
their tongues ; the darweesh and I smiled at each other like 
Roman augurs." 

She believed that the snakes were toothless ; and perhaps on 
this occasion they may have been so. Extracting the teeth of 
the Serpent is an easy business in experienced hands, and is 
conducted in two ways. Those snake-charmers who are con- 



548 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

fident of their own powers merely grasp the reptile by the neck, 
force open its jaws with a piece of stick, and break off the fangs, 
which are but loosely attached to the jaw. Those who are not, 
so sure of themselves irritate the snake, and offer it a piece of 
cloth, generally the corner of their mantle, to bite. The snake 
darts at it, and, as it seizes the garment, the man gives the cloth 
a sudden jerk, and so tears away the fangs. 

Still, although some of the performers employ mutilated 
snakes, there is no doubt that others do not trouble themselves 
to remove the fangs of the Serpents, but handle with impunity 
the cobra or the cerastes with all its venomous apparatus in 
good order. 

We now come to the second branch of the subject, namely, 
the influence of sound upon the cobra and other Serpents. The 
charmers are always provided with musical instruments, of 
which a sort of llute with a loud shrill sound is the one which 
is mostly used in the performances. Having ascertained, from 
slight marks which their practised eyes easily discover, that 
a Serpent is hidden in some crevice, the charmer plays upon his 
flute, and in a short time the snake is sure to make its 
appearance. 

As soon as it is fairly out, the man seizes it by the end of the 
tail, and holds it up in the air at arm's length. In this position 
it is helpless, having no leverage, and merely wriggles about in 
fruitless struggles to escape. Having allowed it to exhaust its 
strength by its efforts, the man lowers it into a basket, where it 
is only too glad to find a refuge, and closes the lid. After a 
while, he raises the lid and begins to play the flute. 

The Serpent tries to glide out of the basket, but, as soon as it 
does so, the lid is shut down again, and in a very short time the 
reptile finds that escape is impossible, and, as long as it hears 
the sound of the flute, only raises its head in the air, supporting 
itself on the lower portion of its tail, and continues to wave 
its head from side to side as long as it hears the sound of the 
music. 

The rapidity with which a cobra learns this lesson is extra- 
ordinaiy, the charmers being as willing to show their mastery 
over newly-caught Serpents as over those which have been 
long in their possession. Some persons have thought that 
all the snakes caught by the professional charmers are tame 



SERPENTS. 549 

reptiles, which have been previously placed in the hole by the 
men, and which have been deprived of their fangs. Careful 
investigations, however, have proved that the snake is really 
attracted by the shrill notes of the flute, and that the charmers 
handle with unconcern the snakes which are in full possession 
of their fangs and poison-glands. 

The allusion to the "deaf adder, which stoppeth her ears/' 
needs a little explanation. Some species of Serpent are more 
susceptible to sound than others, the cobra being the most 
sensitive of all the tribe. Any of these which are comparatively 
insensible to the charmer's efforts may be considered as " deaf 
adders." But there has been from time immemorial a belief 
in the East that some individual Serpents are very obstinate and 
self-willed, refusing to hear the shrill sound of the flute, or the 
magic song of the charmer, and pressing one ear into the dust, 
while they stop the other with the tail. 

Louis of Grenada, one of whose quaint sermons has already 
been quoted, alludes in another discourse to this curious belief, 
in which it is evident that he fully concurred. 

" Dominica XI. post Pent. Concio 1 : 
" ' Furor illis secundum similitudinem serpentis sicut aspidis 
et obturantis aures suas ; quae non exaudit vocem incantantium, 
et venefici incantantis sapienter.' 

" Vulgo enim ferunt aspidem cum incantatur ne lethali veneno 
homines inficiat, alteram aurem terras affigere, alteram vero cauda 
in earn immissa obstruere ut ita demum veneni vis intus latentis 
illaesa maneat. 

"Ad hoc igitur modum cum sapiens incantator, hoc est, 
divini verbi concionator obstinatos homines ad sauitatem per- 
ducere et lethale venenum peccati, quod in eorum mentibus 
residet delere contendit ; illi contra (dsemone id operante) sic 
aures suas huic divinse incantationi claudunt ut nihil prorsus 
eorum quae dicuntur advertant." 

" Eleventh Sunday afUr Pentecost, Sermon 1 ; 

" • Their fury is after the likeness of the serpent, as the asp 
which even stoppeth her ears — which heedeth not the voice ot 
the charmers ; even of the wizard which charmeth wisely.' 

■ For they say commonly, the asp while she is charmed, so 



550 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

that she poisoneth not men with her deadly venom, layeth one 
of her ears to the ground and stoppetli the other by thereinto 
putting her tail, that so the strength of the poison which lurketh 
within may abide unhurt. 

" After this manner, therefore, when the wise charmer — that 
is, the preacher of the Word of God — striveth to lead obstinate 
men to health, and to destroy the deadly poison of sin which 
dwelleth in their nr.nds, they, on the other hand (the devil 
bringing this to pa^s), do so shut their ears to this divine 
charming that they heed nothing at all of these things which 
are said." 

In order to show how widely this idea of the snake stopping 
its ears is spread, I insert the following extract from a com- 
mentary on the Psalms by Eichard Eolle (Hermit) of Hampole. 
It is taken from the MS. in Eton College Library, No. 10, date 
1450. E. Eolle died just a hundred years before his commentary 
was translated into the Northern dialect. 

" ' Furor illis secdm similitudine spentis : sicut aspidus surde 
et obturantis aures suas.' 1F Wodnes til pase after pe lyken- 
ying of nedder : als of snake doumbe and stoppand hir erres. 
IF Eightly calles he pai wode for ]>ai haue na witt to se 
whider pai ga for pai louke pai re eghen and rennes til pe fire 
paire wodnes es domested pat will not be tned als' of pe 
snake pat festes pe tane ere till pe erther and pe toper stopis with 
hir tayle swa pai do pat here noght godes worde pai stoppe 
pair erres with lufe of erthely thyng pat pai delite pai one 
and with paire tayle pat es with aide synes pat pai will noght 
amended 

It may be as well to remark, before passing to another of the 
Serpents, that snakes have no external ears, and that therefore 
the notion of the serpent stopping its ears is zoologically a 
simple absurdity. 



THE CEEASTES, OE SHEPHIPHON OF SCEIPTUEE. 

The word shephiphon, which evidently signifies some species 
of snake, only occurs once in the Scriptures, but fortunately 
that single passage contains an allusion to the habits of the 
serpent which makc3 identification nearly certain. The passage 



THE CERASTES. 551 

in question occurs in Gen. xlix. 17, and forms part of the 
prophecy of Jacob respecting his children : " Dan shall be a 
serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse's 
heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." 

Putting aside the deeper meaning of this prophecy, there 
is here an evident allusion to the habits of the Cerastes, 
or Horned Yiper, a species of venomous serpent, which is 
plentiful in Northern Africa, and is found also in Palestine 
and Syria. It is a very conspicuous reptile, and is easily 
recognised by the two horn-like projections over the eyes. The 
name Cerastes, or horned, has been given to it on account of 
these projections. 

This snake has a custom of lying half buried in the sand, 
awaiting the approach of some animal on which it can feed. 
Its usual diet consists of the jerboas and other small mammalia, 
and as they are exceedingly active, while the Cerastes is slow 
and sluggish, its only chance of obtaining food is to lie in wait. 
It will always take advantage of any small depression, such as 
the print of a camel's foot, and, as it finds many of these 
depressions in the line of the caravans, it is literally " a serpent 
by the way. an adder in the path." 

According to the accounts of travellers, the Cerastes is much 
more irritable than the cobra, and is very apt to strike at any 
object which may disturb it. Therefore, whenever a horseman 
passes along the usual route, his steed is very likely to disturb a 
Cerastes lying in the path, and to be liable to the attack of the 
irritated reptile. Horses are instinctively aware of the presence 
of the snake, and mostly perceive it in time to avoid its stroke. 
Its small dimensions, the snake rarely exceeding two feet in 
length, enable it to conceal itself in a very small hollow, and its 
brownish-white colour, diversified with darker spots, causes it to 
harmonize so thoroughly with the loose sand in which it lies 
buried, that, even when it is pointed out, an unpractised eye 
does not readily perceive it. 

Even the cobra is scarcely so dreaded as this little snake, 
whose bite is so deadly, and whose habits are such as to cause 
travellers considerable risk of being bitten. 



552 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE VIPER, OR EPHEH. 



Passages in which the word Epheh occurs — El-effah — The Sand Viper, or Toxicoa 
— Its appearance and habits— The Acshub — Adder's poison — The Spuugh- 
Slange — The Cockatrice, or Tsepha — The Yellow Viper — Ancient ideas con- 
cerning the Cockatrice — Power of its venom. 



We now come to the species of snake which cannot be iden- 
tified, with any certainty, and will first take the word epheh, 
which is curiously like to the Greek ophis. From the context 
of the three passages in which it occurs, it is evidently a specific, 
and not a collective name, but we are left in much doubt as to 
the precise species which is intended by it. The first of those 
passages occurs in Job xx. 16 : " The viper's (epheh) tongue shall 
slay him." The second is found in Isa. xxx. 6 : " The burden of 
the beasts of the south : into the land of trouble and anguish, 
from whence come the young and old lion, the viper (epheh) and 
fiery flying serpent." The last of these passages occurs in 
ch. lix. 5 of the same book : " That which is crushed breaketh 
out into a viper " (epheh). 

The reader will see that in neither of those passages have we 
the least intimation as to the particular species which is signified 
by the word epheh, and the only collateral evidence which we 
have on the subject fails exactly in the most important point. 
We are told by Shaw that in Northern Africa there is a small 
snake, the most poisonous of its tribe, which is called by the 
name of El-effah, a word which is absolutely identical with the 
Epheh of the Old Testament. But, as he does not identify the 
effah, except by saying that it rarely exceeds a foot in length, we 
gain little by its discovery. 

Mr Tristram believes that he has identified the Epheh of the 
Old Testament with the Sand- Viper, or Toxicoa (Echis arenicola). 
This reptile, though very small, and scarcely exceeding a foot in 
length, is a dangerous one, though its bite is not so deadly as 



THE VIPER. 



553 



that of the cobra or cerastes. It is variable in colour, but has 
angular white streaks on its body, and a row of whitish spots 
along the back. The top of the head is dark, and variegated 
with arrow-shaped white marks. 

The Toxicoa is very plentiful in Northern Africa, Palestine, 
Syria, and the neighbouring countries, and, as it is exceedingly 




•he toxicoa. (Supposed to be the viper of Scripture.) 
" The viper's tongue shall slay him." — Job xx. 16. 



active, is held in some dread by the natives. The Toxicoa is 
closely allied to the dreaded Horatta-pam snake of India (JEchis 
carinata). 

The old Hebraists can make nothing of the word, but it is not 
unlikely that a further and fuller investigation of the ophiology of 
Northern Africa may succeed where mere scholarship, unallied 
with zoological knowledge, has failed. 



The next word is acshub (pronounced ak-shoob). It only 
occurs in one passage, namely Ps. cxl. 3 : " They have sharpened 
their tongues like a serpent (nachash) ; adder's (acshub) poison 



554 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

is under their lips." The precise species represented by this word 
is unknown. Buxtorf, however, explains the word as the Spitter, 
" illud genus quod venenum procul exspuit." Now, if we 
accept this derivation, we must take the word acshub as a syno- 
nym for pethen. We have already identified the Pethen with 
the ISTaja haje, a snake which has the power of expelling the 
poison to some distance, when it is out of reach of its enemy. 
Whether the snake really intends to eject the poison, or whether 
it is merely flung from the hollow fangs by the force of the 
suddenly-checked stroke, is uncertain. That the Haje cobra can 
expel its poison is an acknowledged fact, and the Dutch colonists 
of the Cape have been so familiarly acquainted with this habit, 
that they have called this reptile by the name of Spuugh-Slange, 
or Spitting Snake, a name which, if we accept Buxtorf 's etymo- 
logy, is precisely equivalent to the word acshub. 

Another name of a poisonous snake occurs several times in 
the Old Testament. The word is tsepha, or tsiphoni, and it is 
sometimes translated as Adder, and sometimes as Cockatrice. The 
word is rendered as Adder in Prov. xxiii. 32, where it is said that 
wine " biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Even 
in this case, however, the word is rendered as Cockatrice in the 
marginal translation. 

It is found three times in the Book of Isaiah. Ch. xi. 8 : " The 
weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." Also, 
ch. xiv. 29 : " Eejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod 
of him that smote thee is broken : for oat of the serpent's 
(nachash) nest shall come forth a cockatrice (tsepha), and his fruit 
shall be a fiery flying serpent." The same word occurs again 
in ch. lix. 5 : " They hatch cockatrice' eggs." In the prophet 
Jeremiah we again find the word : " For, behold, I will send 
serpents, cockatrices among you, which will not be charmed, and 
they shall bite you, saith the Lord." 

This last passage gives us a little, but not much, assistance in 
identifying the Tsepha. We learn by it that the Tsepha was 
one of the serpents that were not subject to charmers, and so we 
are able to say that it was neither the cobra, which we have 
identified with the Pethen of Scripture, nor the Cerastes or 
Horned Snake, which has been shown to be the Shephiphon. 
Our evidence is therefore only of a negative character, and the 



THE ADDER. 555 

only positive evidence is that which may be inferred from the 
passage in Isa. xiv. 29, where the Tsepha is evidently thought to 
be more venomous than the ordinary serpent or Nachash. 

Mr. Tristram suggests that the Tsepha of Scripture may pos- 
sibly be the Yellow Viper (Daboia xanthicd), which is one of 
the largest and most venomous of the poisonous serpents which 
are found in Palestine, and which is the more dangerous on 
account of its nocturnal habits. This snake is one of the 
Katukas, and is closely allied to the dreaded Tic-polonga of 
Ceylon, a serpent which is so deadly, and so given to infesting 
houses, that one of the judges was actually driven out of his 
official residence by it. 

As to the old ideas respecting the origin of the Cockatrice, a 
very few words will suffice for them. This serpent was thought 
to be produced from an egg laid by a cock and hatched by a 
viper. " For they say," writes Topsel, " that when a cock groweth 
old, he layeth a certain egge without any shell, in stead whereof 
it is covered with a very thick skin, which is able to withstand 
the greatest force of an easie blow or fall. They say moreover 
that this Egge is laid only in the summer time, about the begin- 
ning of Dog days, being not so long as a Hen's Egge, but round 
and orbicular. Sometimes of a dirty, sometimes of a boxy, and 
sometimes of yellowish muddy colour, which Egge, afterwards 
sat upon by a Snake or a Toad, bringeth forth the Cockatrice, 
being half a foot in length, the hinder part like a Snake, the 
former part like a Cock, because of a treble combe on his 
forehead. 

"But the vulgar opinion of Europe is, that the Egge is 
nourished by a Toad, and not by a Snake ; howbeit in better 
experience it found that the Cock doth sit on that Egge himself: 
whereof Serianus Semnius in his twelfth book of the Hidden 
Animals of Nature hath this discburse, in the fourth chapter 
thereof. 'There happened; saith he, 'within our memory, in 
the city of Pirizsea, that there were two old Cocks which had 
laid Egges, and the common people (because of opinion that 
those Egges would engender Cockatrices) laboured by all nieanes 
possible to keep the same Cocks from sitting on those Egges, but 
they could not with clubs and staves drive them from the Egges, 
until they were forced to break the Egges in sunder, and strangle 
the Cocks." 



556 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

In this curious history it is easy to see the origin of the notion 
respecting the birth of the Cockatrice. It is well known that 
hens, after they have reached an advanced age, assume much of 
the plumage and voice of the male bird. Still, that one of them 
should occasionally lay an egg is no great matter of wonder, and. 
as the egg would be naturally deposited in a retired and sheltered 
spot, such as would be the favoured haunts of the warmth-loving 
snake, the ignorant public might easily put together a legend 
which, absurd in itself, is yet founded on facts. The small 
shell-less egg, so often laid by poultry, is familiar to every one 
who has kept fowls. 

Around this reptile a wonderful variety of legends have been 
accumulated. The Cockatrice was said to kill by its very look, 
" because the beams of the Cockatrice's eyes do corrupt the 
visible spirit of a man, which visible spirit corrupted all the 
other spirits coming from the brain and life of the heart, are 
thereby corrupted, and so the man dyeth." 

The subtle poison of the Cockatrice infected everything near 
it, so that a man who killed a Cockatrice with a spear fell dead 
himself, by reason of the poison darting up the shaft of the spear 
and passing into his hand. Any living thing near which the 
Cockatrice passed was instantly slain by the fiery heat of its 
venom, which was exhaled not only from its mouth, but its sides. 
For the old writers, whose statements are here summarized, con- 
trived to jumble together a number of miscellaneous facts in 
natural history, and so to produce a most extraordinary series of 
legends. We have already seen the real origin of the legend 
respecting the egg from which the Cockatrice was supposed to 
spring, and we may here see that some one of these old writers 
has in his mind some uncertain floating idea of the respira- 
tory orifices of the lamprey, and has engrafted them on the 
Cockatrice. 

" To conclude," writes Topsel, " this poyson infecteth the air, 
and the air so infected killeth all living things, and likewise all 
green things, fruits, and plants of the earth : it burnetii up the 
grasse whereupon it goeth or creepeth, and the fowls of the air 
fall down dead when they come near his den or lodging. Some- 
times he biteth a Man or a Beast, and by that wound the bloud 
turneth into choler, and so the whole body becometh yellow as 
gold, presently killing all who touch it or come near it." 






THE FROG. 557 

1 should not have given even this limited space to such puerile 
legends, but for the fact that such stories as these were fully 
believed in the days when the Authorized Version of the Bible 
was translated. The ludicrous tales which have been occasion- 
ally mentioned formed the staple of zoological knowledge, and 
an untravelled Englishman had no possible means of learning 
the history of foreign animals, except from such books which 
have been quoted, and which were in those days the standard 
works on Natural History. The translators of the Bible believed 
most heartily in the mysterious and baleful reptile, and, as 
they saw that the Tsepha of Scripture was an exceptionally 
venomous serpent, they naturally rendered it by the word 
Cockatrice. 



THE FEOG. 



The Frog only mentioned in the Old Testament as connected with the plagues of 
Egypt — The severity of this plague explained — The Frog detestable to tho 
Egyptians — The Edible Frog and its numbers — Description of the species. 

Plentiful as is the Frog throughout Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, 
it is very remarkable that in the whole of the canonical books 
of the Old Testament the word is only mentioned thrice, and 
each case in connexion with the same event. 

In Exod. viii. we find that the second of the plagues which 
visited Egypt came out of the Nile, the sacred river, in the form 
of innumerable Frogs. The reader will probably remark, on 
perusing the consecutive account of these plagues, that the two 
first plagues were connected with that river, and that they were 
foreshadowed by the transformation of Aaron's rod. 

When Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh to ask him 
to let the people go, Pharaoh demanded a miracle from them, as 
had been foretold. Following the divine command, Aaron threw 
down his rod, which was transformed into a crocodile — the most 
sacred inhabitant of the sacred river — a river which was to the 
Egyptians what the Ganges is to the Hindoos. 



558 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



Next, as was most appropriate, came a transformation wrought 
on the river by means of the same rod which had been trans- 
formed into a crocodile, the whole of the fresh-water throughout 
the land being turned into blood, and the fish dying and polluting 
the venerated river with their putrefying bodies. In Egypt, a 
partially rainless country, such a calamity as this was doubly 
terrible, as it at the same time desecrated the object of their 
worship, and menaced them with perishing by thirst. 




the froo (Rana csculenta). 
And the river shall bring forth frog a abundantly. "— Exod. viii. 3. 



The next plague had also its origin in the river, but extended 
far beyond the limits of its banks. The frogs, being unable to 
return to the contaminated stream wherein they had lived, spread 
themselves in all directions, so as to fulfil the words of the pre- 
diction : " If thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all 
thy borders with frogs : 

" And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall 
go up and come into thine house, and into thy bed-chamber, and 



THE FROG. 559 

upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy 
people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs '"' 
(or dough). 

Supposing that such a plague was to come upon us at the 
present day, we should consider it to be a terrible annoyance, 
yet scarcely worthy of the name of plague, and certaiuly not to 
be classed with the turning of a river into blood, with the hail 
and lightning that destroyed the crops and cattle, and with the 
simultaneous death of the first-born. But the Egyptians suffered 
most keenly from the infliction. They were a singularly fasti- 
dious people, and abhorred the contact of anything that they 
held to be unclean. We may well realize, therefore, the effect 
of a visitation of Frogs, which rendered their houses unclean by 
entering them, and themselves unclean by leaping upon them ; 
which deprived them of rest by getting on their beds, and of 
food by crawling into their ovens and upon the dough in the 
kneading-troughs. 

And, as if to make the visitation still worse, when the plague 
was removed, the Frogs died in the places into which they had 
intruded, so that the Egyptians were obliged to clear their houses 
of the dead carcases, and to pile them up in heaps, to be dried 
by the sun or eaten by birds and other scavengers of the East. 

As to the species of Frog which thus invaded the houses of 
the Egyptians, there is no doubt whatever. It can be but the 
Green, or Edible Frog (Eana esculenta), which is so well known 
for the delicacy of its flesh. This is believed to be the only 
aquatic Frog of Egypt, and therefore must be the species which 
came out of the river into the houses. 

Both in Egypt and Palestine it exists in very great numbers, 
swarming in every marshy place, and inhabiting the pools in 
such numbers that the water can scarcely be seen for the Frogs. 
Thus the multitudes of the Frogs which invaded the Egyptians 
was no matter of wonder, the only miraculous element being 
that the reptiles were simultaneously directed to the houses, and 
their simultaneous death when the plague was taken away. 

It has, however, been suggested that, at the time of year at 
which the event occurred, the young Frogs were in the tadpole 
stage of existence, and therefore would not be able to pass over 
land. But, even granting that to be the case, it does not follow 
that the adult Frogs were not numerous enough to produce the 



560 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

visitation, and it seems likely that those who were not yet 
developed were left to reproduce the race after the full-grown 
Frogs had perished. 

The Green Frog is larger than our common English species, 
and is prettily coloured, the back being green, spotted with black, 
and having three black stripes upon it. The under parts are 
yellowish. At night it keeps up a continued and very loud 
croaking, so that a pond in which a number of these Frogs are 
kept is quite destructive of sleep to any one who is not used to 
the noise. 

Frogs are also mentioned in Eev. xvi. 13 : " And I saw three 
unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, 
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the 
false prophet." With the exception of this passage, which is a 
purely symbolical one, there is no mention of Frogs in the New 
Testament. It is rather remarkable that the Toad, which might 
be thought to afford an excellent symbol for various forms of 
evil, is entirely ignored, both in the Old and New Testaments. 
Probably the Frogs and Toads were all classed together under 
the same title. 






FISHES, 



37 



FISHES. 

Impossibility of distinguishing the different species of Fishes — The fishermen 
Apostles — Fish used for food — The miracle of the loaves and Fishes — The Fish 
broiled on the coals— Clean and unclean Fishes — The scientific writings of 
Solomon— The Sheat-fish, or Silurus— The Eel and the Mursena— The Long- 
headed Barbel— Fish-ponds and preserves— The Fish-ponds of Heshbon — The 
Sucking-fish — The Lump-sucker — The Tunny — The Coryphene. 

We now come to the Fishes, a class of animals which are 
repeatedly mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments, but 
only in general terms, no one species being described so as to 
give the slightest indication of its identity. 

This is the more remarkable because, although the Jews were, 
like all Orientals, utterly unobservant uf those characteristics by 
which the various species are distinguished from each other, we 
might expect that St. Peter and other of the fisher Apostles would 
have given the names of some of the Fish which they were in 
the habit of catching, and by the sale of which they gained 
their living. 

It is true that the Jews, as a nation, would not distinguish 
between the various species of Fishes, except, perhaps, by com- 
parative size. But professional fishermen would be sure to dis- 
tinguish one species from another, if only for the fact that they 
would sell the best-flavoured Fish at the highest price. 

We might have expected, for example, that the Apostles and 
disciples who were present when the miraculous draught of Fishes 
took place would have mentioned the technical names by which 
they were accustomed to distinguish the different degrees of the 
saleable and unsaleable kinds. 

Or we might have expected that on the occasion when St. Peter 
cast his line and hook into the sea, and drew out a Fish holding 
the tribute-iiionev in his mouth, we might have learned the par- 
ticular species of Fish which was thus captured. We ourselves 
would assuredly have done so. It would not have been thought 
sufficient merely to say that a Fish was caught with money in 



564 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



its mouth, but it would have been considered necessary to men- 
tion the particular fish as well as the particular coin. 

But it must be remembered that the whole tone of thought 
differs in Orientals and Europeans, and that the exactness re- 
quired by the one has no place in the mind of the other. The 
whole of the Scriptural narratives are essentially Oriental in 
their character, bringing out the salient points in strong relief, 
but entirely regardless of minute detail. 

We find from many passages both in the Old and New Testa- 
ments that Fish were largely used as food by the Israelites, both 
when captives in Egypt and after their arrival in the Promised 
Land. Take, for example, Numb. xi. 4, 5 : " And the children of 
Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat ? 

" We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely." 
Then, in the Old Testament, although we do not find many such 
categorical statements, there are many passages which allude to 
professional fishermen, showing that there was a demand for the 
Fish which they caught, sufficient to yield them a maintenance. 

In the New Testament, however, there are several passages in 
which the Fishes are distinctly mentioned as articles of food. 
Take, for example, the well-known miracle of multiplying the 
loaves and the Fishes, and the scarcely less familiar passage in 
John xxi. 9 : "As soon then as they were come to land, they 
saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 

" Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have 
now caught. 

" Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great 
fishes, an hundred and fifty and three : and for all there were so 
many, yet was not the net broken. 

" Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the 
disciples durst ask Him, Who art Thou ? knowing that it was 
the Lord. 

" Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and 
fish likewise." 

We find in all these examples that bread and Fish were eaten 
together. Indeed, Fish was eaten with bread just as we eat 
cheese or butter ; and St. John, in his account of the multiplica- 
tion of the loaves and Fishes, does not use the word " fish," but 
another word which rather signifies sauce, and was generally 



FISHES. 565 

employed to designate the little Fish that were salted down and 
dried in the sunbeams for future use. 

As to the various species which were used for different pur- 
poses, we know really nothing, the Jews merely dividing their 
Fish into clean and unclean. 

Still, we find that Solomon treated of Fishes as well as of other 
portions of the creation. " And he spake of trees, from the cedar 
tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out 
of the wall : he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping 
things, and of fishes." (1 Kings iv. 33.) 

Now it is evidently impossible that Solomon could have 
treated of Fishes without distinguishing between their various 
species. Comparatively young as he was, he had received such 
a measure of divine inspiration, that " there came of all people 
to know the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, 
which had heard of his wisdom." 

Yet, although some of his poetical and instructive writings 
have survived to our t i me, the whole of his works on natural 
history have so completely perished, that they have not even 
introduced into the language the names of the various creatures 
of which he wrote. So, in spite of all his labours, there is not a 
single word in the Hebrew language, as now known, by which 
one species of Fish can be distinguished from another, as to the 
distinction between the clean and unclean Fishes. 

According to Levit. xi. the qualification for food lay simply in 
the possession of fins and scales. " These shall ye eat of all that 
are in the waters : whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, 
in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. 

"And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and 
in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living 
thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination 
unto you : 

" They shall be even an abomination unto you ; ye shall not 
eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomina- 
tion " (ver. 9 — 11). There is a similar prohibition in Deut. xiv. 9. 

Some of the species to which this prohibition would extend 
are evident enough. There are, for example, the Sheat-fishes, 
which have the body naked, and which are therefore taken out 
of the list of permitted Fishes. The Sheat-fishes inhabit rivers 
in many parts of the world, and often grow to a very consider- 



666 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



able size They may be at once recognised by their peculiar 
shape, and by the long, fleshy tentacles "that hang from the 
mouth The 'object of these tentacles is rather dubious, but as 
the fish have been seen to direct them at will to various objects, 
it is likely that they may answer as organs of touch. 




^Wt 



1. Wcr^na (Mursena helena). 2. Long-headed Barbel (Barbus longiccps). 

3. Sheat-fish (Silurus macracanthus). 

' All that have not fins and scales . . . shall be an abomination unto you."— Levit xi. 10. 



As might be conjectured from its general appearance, it is one 
of the Fishes that love muddy banks, in which it is fond of 
burrowing so deeply that, although the river may swarm with 
Sheat-fishes, a practised eye is required to see them. 

As far as the Sheat-fishes are concerned, there is little need 
for the prohibition, inasmuch as the flesh is not at all agreeable 
in flavour, and is difficult of digestion, being very fat and gclati- 



FISHES. 567 

nous. The swimming-bladder of the Skeat-fish is used in some 
countries for making a kind of isinglass, similar in character to 
that of the sturgeon, but of coarser quality. 

The lowermost figure in the illustration on page 566 represents 
a species which is exceedingly plentiful in the Sea of Galilee. 

On account of the mode in which their body is covered, the 
whole of the sharks and rays are excluded from the list of per- 
mitted Fish, as, although they have fins, they have no scales, their 
place being taken by shields varying greatly in size. The same 
rule excludes the whole of the lamprey tribe, although the excel • 
lence of their flesh is well known. 

Moreover, the Jews almost universally declare that the 
Muraena and Eel tribe are also unclean, because, although it has 
been proved that these Fishes really possess scales as well as fins, 
and are therefore legally permissible, the scales are hidden under 
a slimy covering, and are so minute as to be practically absent. 

The uppermost figure in the illustration represents the cele- 
brated Muraena, one of the fishes of the Mediterranean, in which 
sea it is tolerably plentiful. In the days of the old Eoman 
empire, the Mursena was very highly valued for the table. The 
wealthier citizens built ponds in which the Muraenae were kept 
alive until they were wanted. This Fish sometimes reaches four 
feet in length. 

The rest of the Fishes which are shown in the three illus- 
trations belong to the class of clean Fish, and were permitted as 
food. The figure of the Fish between the Muraena and Sheat-fish 
is the Long-headed Barbel, so called from its curious form. 

The Barbels are closely allied to the carps, and are easily 
known by the barbs or beards which hang from their lips. 
Like the sheat-fishes, the Barbels are fond of grubbing in the mud, 
for the purpose of getting at the worms, grubs, and larvae of 
aquatic insects that are always to be found in such places. The 
Barbels are rather long in proportion to their depth, a peculiarity 
which, owing to the length of the head, is rather exaggerated in 
this species. 

The Long-headed Barbel is extremely common in Palestine, and 
may be taken with the very simplest kind of net. Indeed, in 
some places, the fish are so numerous that a common sack 
answers nearly as well as a net. 

It has been mentioned that the ancient Bomans were in the 



568 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

habit of forming ponds in which the Mursense were kept, and it is 
evident, from several passages of Scripture, that the Jews were 
accustomed to preserve fish in a similar manner, though they 
would not restrict their tanks or ponds to one species. 

Allusion is made to this custom in the Song of Solomon : 
" Thy neck is as a tower of ivory ; thine eyes like the fish-pools 
in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim." The Hebrew Bible 
renders the passage in a slightly different manner, not specifying 
the particular kind of pool. " Thine eyes are as the pools in 
Heshbon by a gate of great concourse." 

Buxtorf, however, in his Hebrew Lexicon, translates the word 
as "piscina," i.e. fish-pond. Now among the ruins of Heshbon 
may still be seen the remains of a large tank, which in all pro- 
bability was one of the " fish-pools " which are mentioned by the 
sacred writer. 

If we accept the rendering of the Authorized Version, it is 
shown that tanks or ponds were employed for this purpose, by 
a passage which occurs in the prophecy of Isaiah : " The fishers 
also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks 
shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall 
languish. 

" Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave 
networks, shall be confounded. 

" And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that 
make sluices and ponds for fish" (xix. 8 — 10). 

This passage, however, is rendered rather variously. The 
marginal translation of verse 10 substitutes the word "founda- 
tions " for " purposes," and the words " living things " for 
" fish." The Jewish Bible takes an entirely different view of 
the passage, and renders it as follows : " The fishers also shall 
groan, and all that cast angle into the river shall mourn, and 
they that spread nets upon the waters shall be languid. 

" Moreover, they that work in combed flax and they that weave 
networks shall be confounded. 

" And the props thereof shall be crushed ; all working for 
waged are void of soul." 

However, the mark of doubt is affixed to this last phrase, and 
it cannot be denied that the rendering of the Authorized Version 
is at all events more consistent than that of the Jewish Bible. 
In the former, we first find the fishers taking their prey with the 



FISHES. 



569 



hook and line, then with different kinds of nets, and lastly., 
placing the fish thus captured in sluices and ponds until the)' 
are wanted for consumption. 




FISHES OF THE MKDffEKKANEAN. 

I. Sucking-fish ('Echeneis remora). 2. Tunny (Thynnus thynnus). 

3. ConYPHENE (Coryphaena hippuris). 

" These shall ye cat oj all that arc. in the waters." — Levit. xi. 9. 



The accompanying illustration represents Fishes of the Medi- 
terranean Sea, and it is probable that one of them may be 
identified, though the passage in which it is mentioned is only 
an inferential one. In the prophecy against Pharaoh, king of 
Egypt, the prophet Ezekiel writes as follows : " I will put hooks 
in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto 
thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy 



570 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales ,: 
(xxix. 4). 

Eeference is here made to some inhabitant of the waters that 
has the power of adhesion, and two suggestions have been made 
respecting the precise signification of the passage. Some com- 
mentators think that the " Fishes " here mentioned are the 
Cuttles, which, although they are not Fishes at all, but belong 
to the molluscs, are called Fishes after the loose nomenclature 
of the Hebrew language, just as, even in our stricter and more 
copious language, we speak of the same creature as the Cuttle- 
fish, and use the word " shell-fish : ' to denote both molluscs and 
Crustacea. 

Others believe that the prophet made allusion to the Sucking- 
fish, which has the dorsal fins developed into a most curious 
apparatus of adhesion, by means of which it can fasten itself at 
will to any smooth object, and hold so tightly to it that it can 
scarcely be torn away without injury. 

The common Sucking-fish (Echeneis remora) is shown in the 
upper part of the illustration. 

There are, however, other fish which have powers of adhesion 
which, although not so remarkable as those of the Sucking-fish, 
are yet very strong. There is, for example, the well-known 
Lump-sucker, or Lump-fish, which has the ventral fins modi- 
fied into a sucker so powerful that, when one of these fishes has 
been put into a pail of water, it has attached itself so firmty to 
the bottom of the vessel that when lifted by the tail it raised 
the pail, together with several gallons of water. 

The Gobies, again, have their ventral fins united and modified 
into a single sucker, by means of which the fish is able to secure 
itself to a stone, rock, or indeed any tolerably smooth surface. 
These fishes are popularly known as Bull-routs. 

The centre of the illustration is occupied by another of the 
Mediterranean fishes. This is the well-known Tunny {Thynnus 
thynnus), which furnishes food to the inhabitants of the coasts 
of this inland sea, and indeed constitutes one of their principal 
sources of wealth. This fine fish is on an average four or 
five feet in length, and sometimes attains the length of six or 
seven feet. 

The flesh of the Tunny is excellent, and the fish is so conspi- 
cuous, that the silence of the Scriptures concerning its existence 



FISHES. 571 

shows the utter indifference to specific accuracy that prevailed 
among the various writers. 

The other figure represents the Coryphene (Coryphce?ia hip- 
puris), popularly, though very wrongly, called the Dolphin, and 
celebrated, under that name, for the beautiful colours which fly 
over the surface of the body as it dies. 

The flesh of the Coryphene is excellent, and in the times of 
classic Eome the epicures were accustomed to keep these fish 
alive, and at the beginning of a feast to lay them before the 
guests, so that they might, in the first place, witness the magni- 
ficent colours of the dying fish, and, in the second place, might 
be assured that when it was cooked it was perfectly fresh. Even 
during Jife, the Coryphene is a most lovely fish, and those who 
have witnessed it playing round a ship, or dashing off in chase 
of a shoal of flying-fisheb, can scarcely find words to express 
their admiration of its beauty. 



FISHES. 

CHAPTER II. 

Various modes of capturing Fish — The hook and line — Military use of the hookr- 
Putting a hook in the jaws— The fishing spear— Different kinds of nct^The 
casting-net — Prevalence of this form — Technical words among fishermen — 
Fishing by night— The draught of Fishes— The real force of the miracle- 
Selecting the Fish— The Fish-gate and Fish-market -Fish killed by a draught 
— Fishing in the Dead Sea— JLfagon, the fish-god of Philistina, Assyria, and 
Siam —Various Fishes of Egypt and Palestine. 

As to the various methods of capturing Fish, we will first tal< e 
the simplest plan, that of the hook and line, as is mentioned in 
the passage quoted above from Ezekiel. Sundry other references 
are made to angling, both in the Old and New Testaments. 
See, for example, the well-known passage respecting the levia- 
than, in Job xli. 1, 2 : " Canst thou draw out leviathan with an 
hook ? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down ? 

" Canst thou put an hook into his nose ? or bore his jaw 
through with a thorn ? " 



572 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

It is thought that the last clause of this passage refers, not to 
the actual capture of the Fish, but to the mode in which they 
were kept in the tanks, each being secured by a ring or hook 
and line, so that it might be taken when wanted. 

On referring to the New Testament, we find that the fisher 
Apostles used both the hook and the net. See Matt. xvii. 27 : 
" Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish 
that first cometh up." Now this passage explains one or two 
points. 

In the first place, it is one among others which shows that, 
although the Apostles gave up all to follow Christ, they did not 
throw away their means of livelihood, as some seem to fancy, 
nor exist ever afterwards on the earnings of others. On the 
contrary, they retained their fisher equipment, whether boats, 
nets, or hooks ; and here we find St. Peter, after the way of 
fishermen, carrying about with him the more portable imple- 
ments of his craft. 

Next, the phrase " casting " the hook into the sea is exactly 
expressive of the mode in which angling is conducted in the sea 
and large pieces of water, such as the Lake of Galilee. The 
fisherman does not require a rod, but takes his line, which has 
a weight just above the hook, coils it on his left arm in lasso 
fashion, baits the hook, and then, with a peculiar swing, throws 
it into the water as far as it will reach. The hook is allowed to 
sink for a short time, and is then drawn towards the shore in 
a series of jerks, in order to attract the Fish, so that, although the 
fisherman does not employ a rod, he manages his line very much 
as does an angler of our own day when " spinning " for pike 
or trout. 

Sometimes the fisherman has a number of lines to manage, 
and in this case he acts in a slightly different manner. After 
throwing out the loaded hook, as above mentioned, he takes a 
short stick, notched at one end, and pointed at the other, thrusts 
the sharp end into the ground at the margin of the water, and 
hitches the line on the notch. 

He then proceeds to do the same with all his lines in suc- 
cession, and when he has flung the last hook into the water, he 
sits down on a heap of leaves and grass which he has gathered 
together, and watches the lines to see if either of them is moved 
in the peculiar jerking manner which is characteristic of a 



FISHES. 573 

"bite." After a while, he hauls them in successively, removes 
the Fish that may have been caught, and throws the lines into 
the water afresh. 

This mode of fishing is mentioned in Habakkuk i. 15 : "They 
take up all of them with the angle." 

There are one or two passages which seem to refer to the 
custom of angling, though they really bear on a different subject* 
One of these is to be found in Ezek. xxxviii. : "And I will 
turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring 
thee forth and all thine army, horses and horsemen." There is 
another passage of a similar character in Amos iv. 2 : " The 
Lord God hath sworn by His holiness, that, lo, the days shall 
come upon you, that He will take you away with hooks, and 
your posterity with fish-hooks." 

The word which is here translated as "hook" may more 
properly be rendered as " ring," and the prophet alludes to the 
cruel custom then prevalent of passing a sharpened hook through 
the nose or cheek of a prisoner taken in war, twisting it into 
a ring, tying a cord to it, and so leading him just as a bull is led 
by the ring in the nose. 

There are several references in the Scriptures to the hook used 
for this cruel purpose. See 2 Kings xix. 28 : " Because thy 
rage against Me and thy tumult is come up into Mine ears, 
therefore I will put My hook in thy nose, and My bridle in thy 
lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou 
earnest." 

The reader will perceive how much more forcible is this 
passage when understood rightly than when the word " hook " 
is taken as signifying a mere fish-hook, the sum of it being that 
the Assyrians should be made captives and slaves, and driven 
back to the country whence they came. The passage in Ezek. 
xxix. 4 must be taken in the same sense : " But I will put 
hooks in thy jaws." 

That the spear was used in the old Scriptural times as it- 
is at the present is shown from several passages of Holy Writ. 
See, for example, Job xli. 7 : " Canst thou fill his skin with 
barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears?" as also in the 
same chapter, "The sword of him that layeth at him cannot 
hold : the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. 

" He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. 



574 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

" The arrow cannot make him flee : sling-stones are turned 
with him into stubble. 

" Darts are counted as stubble : he laugheth at the shaking of 
a spear" (ver. 26—29). 

Fishing with the spear is much used in the smaller tributary 
streams of the Jordan, and the weapon, instead of being many- 
pointed and barbed in trident fashion, has but one point, and is 
without barbs. With these spears the people contrive to catch 
a considerable variety of Fish. 

We now come to the practice of catching Fish by the net, a 
custom to which the various Scriptural writers frequently refer, 
sometimes in course of historical narrative, and sometimes by 
way of allegory or metaphor. The reader will remember that 
the net was also used on land for the purpose of catching wild 
animals, and that many of the allusions to the net which occur 
in the Old Testament refer to the land and not to the water. 

The commonest kind of net, which was used in the olden 
times as it is now, was the casting-net. This kind of net is 
circular, and is loaded all round its edge with weights, and sus- 
pended by the middle to a cord. When the fisherman throws 
this net, he gathers it up in folds in his arms, and, with a pecu- 
liar swing of the arms, only to be learned by long practice, 
flings it so that it spreads out and falls in its circular form upon 
the surface of t'he water. It rapidly sinks to the bottom, the 
loaded eircumference causing it to assume a cup-like form, 
enclosing within its meshes all the Fish that happen to be 
under it as it falls. When it has reached the bottom, the 
fisherman cautiously hauls in the rope, so that the loaded edges 
gradually approach each other, and by their own weight cling- 
together and prevent the Fish from escaping as the net is slowly 
drawn ashore. 

This kind of net is found, with certain modifications, in 
nearly all parts of the world. The Chinese are perhaps supreme 
in their management of it. They have a net of extraordinary 
size, and cast it by flinging it over their backs, the huge circle 
spreading itself out in the most perfect manner as it falls on the 
water. 

At the present day, when the fishermen use this net they 
wade into the sea as far as they can, and then cast it. In 
consequence of this custom, the fishermen are always naked 



FISHES. 575 

while engaged in their work, wearing nothing but a thick cap in 
order to save themselves from sun-stroke. It is probable that 
on the memorable occasion mentioned by St. John, in chap, xxi., 
all the fishermen were absolutely, and not relatively naked — 
i.e. that they wore no clothes at all, not even the ordinary 
tunic. 

That a great variety of nets was used by the ancient Jews is 
evident from the fact that there are no less than ten words to 
signify different kinds of net. At the present day we have 
very great difficulty in deciding upon the exact interpretation 
of these technical terms, especially as in very few cases are 
we assisted either by the context or by the etymology of the 
words. It is the same in all trades or pursuits, and we can 
easily understand how our own names of drag-net, seine, trawl, 
and keer-drag would perplex any commentator who happened 
to live some two thousand years after English had ceased to be 
a living language. 

Four or five of the Hebrew words give no clue whatever, 
being simply derived from a root that signifies weaving, and 
that therefore merely indicates the fact that the articles in 
question are nets. Some of them are derived from a word 
which signifies lying in wait, and another from a word which 
signifies catching or seizing. 

The translators who rendered the Hebrew into the familiar 
form of the Septuagint either were unable to distinguish be- 
tween the various Hebrew terms, or did not think that any 
discrimination was needed, inasmuch as they sometimes render 
the same Hebrew word by several Greek equivalents, and some- 
times use the same Greek word to express several Hebrew 
terms. 

When we come to the New Testament, we find a certain 
feeling of relief, because the three words used to signify 
different kinds of nets are easily understood. 

There is, for example, the amirtiihlestron (dfz<f)tfi\ii(TTpov), which 
is undoubtedly a casting net, as is signified by the etymology 
of the word, which is derived from two Greek words signifying 
to cast around. This word is used by Herodotus in a sort of 
parable related by Cyrus to the Ionians and iEolians, who had 
refused to revolt from Croesus when Cyrus asked them to do so ; 
but, when they found ho was sure to be their master, they sent 



576 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

an embassy to ask to be admitted among Lis subjects on the 
same terms which they had enjoyed when under the rule of 
Croesus. 

When the embassy came before Cyrus, he only answered 
them with a parable : " A piper, seeing some fishes in the sea, 
began to pipe, expecting that they would come ashore ; but, 
finding his hopes disappointed, he took a casting-net, and 
enclosed a great number of fishes, and drew them out. When 
he saw them leaping about, he said to the fishes, ' Cease your 
dancing, since when I piped you would not come out and 
dance. " 

The reader will doubtless have noticed the singular analogy 
between this parable and the saying of our Lord, " I have 
piped to you, and ye have not danced." 

This is the net that is mentioned in Matt. iv. 18 : " And 
Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon 
called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net (amphi- 
Uestron) into the sea." 

The second word, diktuon (Slktvov), is derived from another 
word signifying to throw ; so that if we use the expression 
" casting-net " for the word amphiblestron, and " throwing- 
net" for the word diktuon, we shall be tolerably accurate. 
Practically both words are used for the same net, as we find 
by proceeding further with the sacred narration. 

After mentioning that the future Apostles were casting a net 
(amphiblestron), St. Matthew proceeds as follows : " And He said 
unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 

" And they straightway left their nets (diktud), and followed 
Him " (ver. 1 9, 20). In the following verse, where James and 
John are mentioned as being occupied in mending their nets 
after the wont of all practical fishermen, the word which is 
translated as " nets " is diktua. 

If we turn to John xxi. we find the same word employed. 

After the Resurrection, the fisher Apostles were pursuing their 
craft by night, as is still the custom, and had caught nothing — a 
very serious loss to them. Then at daybreak they saw their 
risen Lord standing on the seashore, and, as was several times 
the case after the Resurrection, did not recognise Him. He then 
told chem to cast the net (diktuon) over the right hand of the 
boat and as soon as that was done the net was filled with Fishes. 



FISHES. 577 

Now the knowledge of the real meaning of the word diktua 
gives to this passage a signification which it would not other- 
wise possess. 

In ver. 11, St. John (who was one of the actors in the 
scene, and who therefore writes with the precision of an eye- 
witness) states that the number of large Fishes was a hundred 
and fifty-three, and yet the net was not broken. Knowing that 
the casting-net is comparatively small, we now see that a 
hundred and fifty-three large Fishes would completely fill a net 
which could be cast by one man, and that the miraculous 
element was twofold. 

Firstly, the complete filling of the net with large Fishes, 
whereas six or seven small Fishes are the usual complement of a 
casting-net ; and. secondly, the fact that the net which was held 
merely by a single rope in the middle, and which retained its 
contents simply by the weight of the leads round its margin, did 
not give way, and allow the enclosed Fish to escape. 

Indeed, the very fact that a casting-net took such a multitude 
of Fishes at once opened the eyes of St. John, who exclaimed 
to his fellow Apostles, "It is the Lord." St. Peter, with the 
impetuous zeal of his nature, acknowledged the truth of the 
exclamation, and, too impatient to wait until the boats could 
land, girt his fisher's tunic upon him, leaped into the sea, and 
swam ashore. 

The third Greek word which is translated as " net " is sagine 
(aayrjvr)), a word which still survives in our term " Seine." 

The Sagene, or seine-net, was made in lengths, any number of 
which could be joined together, so as to enclose a large space of 
water. The upper edge was kept at the surface of the water by 
floats, and the lower edge sunk by weights. 

This net was always taken to sea in vessels, and when 
" shot " the various lengths were joined together, and the net 
extended in a line, with a boat at each end. The boats then 
gradually approached each other, so as to bring the net into a 
semicircle, and finally met, enclosing thereby a vast number of 
Fishes in their meshen walls. The water was then beaten, so as 
to frighten the Fishes and drive them into the meshes, and the 
net was then either taken ashore, or lifted by degrees on board 
the boats, and the Fish removed from it. 

As in a net of this kind Fishes of all sorts are enclosed, the 
38 



578 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

contents are carefully examined, and those which are unlit for 
eating are thrown away. Even at the present day much care is 
taken in the selection, but in the ancient times the fishermen 
were still more cautious, every Fish having to be separately 
examined in order that the presence both of fins and scales 
might be assured before the captors could send it to the market. 

Tt is to this custom that Christ alludes in the well-known 
parable of the net : " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 
a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind ; 

" Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, 
and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away " 
Compare also Habakkuk i. 14 — 17. 

The important part taken by Fish in the earlier scriptural days 
is shown by the fact that in Jerusalem there was not only a 
fish-market, but that the gate which opened upon that market 
was called the Fish- gate. See 2 Chron. xxxiii. 14 : " Now after 
this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side 
of Crihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish- 
gate." 

Afterwards, when Nehemiah obtained permission from Arla- 
xerxes to rebuild the burnt and broken-down walls of Jerusalem, 
he restored the Fish-gate as it had been before : " But the fish- 
gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams 
thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the 
bars thereof " (JSTeh. iii. 3). 

About ten years afterwards, when the city had been rebuilt 
and repeopled, the fish-market was again established, the dealers 
being chiefly men of Tyre, who took advantage of the neglect of 
the law which had been the result of the captivity among 
idolaters, and sold their goods on the Sabbath day : " There dwelt 
men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of 
ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and 
in Jerusalem " (Neh. xiii. 16). 

It is evident that the Fish which these traders brought must 
have been dried and salted, or otherwise they would not have 
borne the journey to Jerusalem from Tyre. Dried Fish were, 
according to Herodotus, largely used in Egypt, and it is probable 
that the Jews learned the art of drying and salting Fish for 
future use during their captivity in that land. 



FISHES. 579 

There are one or two passages in the Scriptures which relate 
to Fish, though in a less direct manner than those which have 
been quoted. One of them refers to the times of drought which 
occasionally visit Palestine, and which always bring with them 
terrible privations, and sometimes cause actual famine. See, for 
example, Isa. L 2 : " Behold, at My rebuke 1 dry up the sea, I 
make the rivers a wilderness : their fish stinketh, because there 
is no water, and dieth for thirst." These words exactly express 
the condition of the country after a long drought. The springs 
are gradually exhausted from the absence of rain, the large rivers 
sink lower and lower in their beds, and the little streams and 
tributaries dry up altogether, leaving their inhabitants to perish 
for want of water. 

By way of contrast to this passage, we will take another, 
which speaks, not of death, but of life. It occurs in Ezek. 
xlvii. 10, and forms part of the vision in which the future of 
the Church was foretold : 

" And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, 
which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live : 
and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these 
waters shall come thither : for they shall be healed ; and every- 
thing shall live whither the river cometh. 

"And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon 
it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim ; they shall be a place to 
spread forth nets ; their fish shall be according to their kinds, 
as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many." 

Now this is one of the many passages which might be 
passed over lightly, because its general signification is so evi- 
dent, and yet which requires to be understood before its full 
force can be comprehended. Both these places, En-gedi and 
En-eglaim, are on the shores of the Dead Sea, in which no 
creature can live. Thousands of small Fishes are daily carried 
into the Dead Sea from the Jordan, and as soon as the fresh 
water of the river mingles with the poisonous waves of the 
Dead Sea the Fishes die. Putting aside as foreign to the pur- 
pose of this work the metaphorical signification of the passage, 
we find that the prophet foretold a complete regeneration of the 
waters, so that, instead of destroying every creature that entered 
them, the Fishes should multiply so that fishermen should ply 
their trade from one part of the Dead Sea to another. 



580 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Again, in Hosea iv. 3, where the destruction of Fish is men- 
tioned among the plagues that would follow the continual 
disobedience of the Israelites : " Because there is no truth, nor 
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land, .... 

" Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth 
therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with 
the fowls of heaven: yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be 
taken away." 

Lastly, we come to the religious, or rather superstitious, 
part played by Fish in the ancient times. That the Egyptians 
employed Fish as material symbols of Divine attributes we learn 
from secular writers, such as Herodotus and Strabo. 

The Jews, who seem to have had an irrepressible tendency to 
idolatry, and to have adopted the idols of every people with 
whom they came in contact, resuscitated the Fish-worship of 
Egypt as soon as they found themselves among the Philistines. 
We might naturally imagine that as the Israelites were bitterly 
opposed to their persistent enemy, who trod them under foo^ 
and crushed every attempt at rebellion for more than three 
hundred years, they would repudiate the worship as well as tht 
rule of their conquerors. But, on the contrary, they adopted the 
worship of Dagon, the Fish-god, who was the principal deity 
of the Philistines, and erected temples in his honour. 

Their tendency to this Fish-worship is specially noticed in the 
commandment that they were not to worship " the likeness of 
anything that creepeth on the ground" {i.e. serpent-worship), 
"the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the 
earth" (Deut. iv. 18). 

We learn from 1 Sam. v. 4 the form of this idol : " When 
they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was 
fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord ; 
and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were 
cut off upon the threshold ; only the stump of Dagon was left 
to him." 

If the reader will refer to this passage, he will see that the 
latter part is rendered in the marginal reading as "the fishy 
part was left to him." The Jewish Bible has nearly the same 
reading, " only a fish-stump had remained of him." 

It is evident, therefore, that Dagon had the head, body, and 



FISHES. 581 

arms of a man, and that the figure terminated in a Fish's tail 
In fact, there is little doubt that to the various figures of this 
deity is owing the wide-spread belief in mermen. We find the 
same image among the Assyrians, who not only represented the 
god as half man and half fish, but who dressed his priest in a 
garment representing the skin of a Fish, with the head worn as 
a helmet, and the rest of the skin flowing down the back. 

We find precisely the same worship at the present day in 
Siam, where Dagon has exactly the same form as among the 
Philistines of old. There is now before me a photograph of 
a great temple at Ayutia, the entrance to which is guarded by 
two huge images of the Fish-god. They are about sixty feet in 
height, and have both legs and feet like man, but in addition 
the lower part of the body is modified into the tail of a Fish, 
which, in common with the whole of the body, is covered with 
gilded scales. 

It is conjectured that the Fish was chosen as an emblem of 
fecundity, on account of the wonderful fertility of the Fish tribes. 
That the Israelites were familiarly acquainted with this fact is 
shewn by a passage in the benediction of Jacob. In speaking 
of Joseph, he uses these words : " The Angel which redeemed 
me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let my name be named on 
them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let 
them grow into a multitude" ( " as fishes do increase," marg. 
trans.) "in the midst of the earth" (Gen. xlviii. 16). 

In order that the reader may see examples of the typical Fish 
which are to be found in Egypt and Palestine, I have added 
three more species, which are represented in the following 
illustration. 

The uppermost figure represents the Nile Perch (Lates 
Wiloticus). This Fish is plentiful in the Nile, and in the 
mouths of many Asiatic rivers. It is brown above, silvery 
white below, and may be distinguished by the armed gill- 
covers, and the three strong spines of the anal fin. The 
tongue is smooth. 

Immediately below the Nile Perch is the Stae-gazee {Uran- 
oscopus scaber). 

This Fish is found in the Mediterranean, and derives its name 
from the singular mode in which the eyes are set in the head, 



582 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



so that it looks upwards instead of sideways. It is one of the 
mud-lovers, a fact which accounts for the peculiar position of 
the eyes. It is said to feed after the fashion of the fishing- 
frog — i.e. by burying itself in the mud and attracting other Fishes 




g_-.g_r— 



FISH OF EGYPT AND PALESTINE. 

1. Nile Perch. 2. Surmullet. K. Star-gazfs 

" We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely." — Numb. xi. 5. 



by a worm-like appendage of its mouth, and pouncing on them 
before they are aware of their danger. 

This is not a pretty Fish, and as it is very spiny, is not 
pleasant to the grasp, but its flesh is very good, and it is much 
valued by those who can obtain it. 

The last Fish to be noticed is the Surmullet {Mullus Sur- 
muletus), a Fish that is equally remarkable for the beauty of its 
colours and the excellence of its flesh. 



INVERTEBRATES. 



MOLLUSCS. 

The purple of Scripture — Various Molluscs from which it is obtained — The 
common Dog- Whelk of England — The sac containing the purple dye — Curious 
change of colour — Mode of obtaining the dye — The Tyrian purple— The king 
of the Ethiopians and the purple robe — The professional purple dyers — 
Various words expressive of diffdent shades of purple — Care taken to keep the 
preparation of the dye secret. 

Leaving the higher forms of animal life, we now pass to the 
Invertebrated Animals which are mentioned in Scripture. 

As may be inferred from the extreme looseness of nomen- 
clature which prevails among the higher animals, the species 
which can be identified are comparatively few, and of them but 
a very few details are given in the Scriptures. 

Taking them in their zoological order, we will begin with the 
Molluscs. 

We are all familiar with the value which was set by the 
ancients upon the peculiar dye which may be called by the 
name of Imperial Purple. In the first place, it was exceedingly 
costly, not only for its richness of hue, but from the great 
difficulty with which a sufficient quantity could be procured for 
staining a dress. Purple was exclusively a royal colour, which 
might not be worn by a subject. Among the ancient Eomans, 
during the times of the Caesars, any one who ventured to appear 
in a dress of purple would do so at the peril of his life. In 
the consular days of Rome, the dress of the consuls was white, 
striped with purple ; but the Caesars advanced another step in 
luxury, and dyed the whole toga of this costly hue. 

The colour of the dye is scarcely what we understand by the 
term " purple," i.e. a mixture of blue and red. It has but very 
little blue in it, and has been compared by the ancients to 
the colour of newly-clotted blood. It is obtained from several 



586 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Molluscs belonging to the great Whelk family, the chief of which 
is the Murex brandaris. Another species is Murex trunculus, 
another is Purpura hoemastoma, and we have a fourth on our 
own coast, the common Dog- Whelk, or Dog-Periwinkle {Pur- 
pura lapillus). 

The shell is shaped something like that of a whelk, but is 
very smooth and porcelain-like, and is generally white, orna- 
mented with several coloured bands. It is, however, one of the 
most variable of shells, differing not only in colour but in form. 
It always inhabits the belt of the shore between tide-marks, and 
preys upon other Molluscs, such as the mussel and periwinkle, 
literally licking them to pieces with its long riband tongue. 

This tongue is beset with rows of hooked teeth, exactly like 
the shark-tooth weapons of the Samoan and Mangaian Islanders, 
and with it the creature is enabled to bore through the shells of 
mussels and similar Molluscs, and to eat the enclosed animal. 
It is very destructive to periwinkles, thrusting its tongue through 
the mouth of the shell, piercing easily the operculum by which 
the entrance is closed, and gradually scooping out the unfor- 
tunate inmate. 

Even the bivalves, which can shut themselves up between 
two shells, fare no better, the tongue of the Dog- Whelk rasping 
a hole in the hard shell in eight-and-forty hours. 

Any of my readers who desire to obtain a very fair specimen 
of the old imperial purple can do so without difficulty. 

Let him go down to the sea-shore, and collect a number of 
Dog-Whelks — a task of no difficulty, as a bushel may be obtained 
in a very short time. Let him provide himself with a piece of 
perfectly clean linen, or pure white woollen fabric, and a pair of 
fine scissors or a sharp knife. 

In order to procure the animal, the shell must be broken with 
a sharp blow of a small hammer, and the receptacle of the 
colouring matter can then be seen behind the head, and recog- 
nised by its lighter hue. 

When it is opened, a creamy sort of matter exudes. It is 
yellowish, and gives no promise of its future richness of hue. 
There is only one drop of this matter in each animal, and it is 
about sufficient in quantity to stain a piece of linen the size of a 
sixpence. 

The best mode of seeing the full beauty of the purple is to 



MOLLUSCS. 587 

take a number of the Molluscs, and to stain as large a surface as 
possible. The piece of linen should then be exposed to the rays 
of the sun, when it will go through a most curious series of 
colours. The yellow begins to turn green, and, after a while, the 
stained portions of the linen will be entirely green, the yellow 
having been vanquished by the blue. By degrees the blue pre- 
dominates more and more over the yellow, until the linen is no 
more green, but blue. Then, just as the yellow yielded to the 
blue, the blue yields to red, and becomes first violet, then purple, 
and lastly assumes the blood-red hue of royalty. 

The colour is very permanent, and, instead of fading by time, 
seems rather to brighten. Some two hundred years ago there 
was an established trade in this dye in Ireland ; but it has long 
ago been crushed by the cheaper, though less permanent, dyes 
which have since been invented. 

In some cases the ancients appear not to have troubled them- 
selves with the complicated operation of taking the animal out 
of the shell, opening the receptacle, and squeezing the contents 
on the fabric to be dyed, but simply crushed the whole of the 
Mollusc, so as to set the colouring matter free, and steeped the 
cloth in the pulp. Tyre was one of the most celebrated spots 
for this manufacture, the " Tyrian dye " being celebrated for its 
richness. Heaps of broken shells remain to the present day as 
memorials of the long-perished manufacture. 

The value which the ancients set upon this dye is shown by 
many passages in various books. Among others we may refer 
to Herodotus. 

Cambyses, it appears, had a design to make war upon three 
nations, the Ammonians, the Carthaginians, and the Ethiopians. 
He determined to invade the first by land, and the second by 
sea ; but, being ignorant of the best method of reaching the Ethi- 
opians, he dispatched messengers to them, nominally as ambas- 
sadors, but practically as spies. He sent to the King of Ethiopia 
valuable presents — namely, a purple mantle, a golden necklace 
and bracelet, an elaborate box of perfumed ointment, and a 
cask of palm-wine, these evidently being considered a proof of 
imperial magnificence. 

The Ethiopian king ridiculed the jewels, praised the wine, 
and asked curiously concerning the dye with which the purple 
mantle was stained. On being told the mode of preparation, he 



588 BIBLE AN.IMAL&. 

refused to believe the visitors, and, referring to the changing 
hues of the mantle and to the perfume of the ointment, he 
showed his appreciation of their real character by saying that 
the goods were deceptive, and so were the bearers. 

This curious narrative occurs in the third book, chaps. 19 — 22. 

The same historian has in another place a passing allusion 
to the trade of catching the purple-producing whelks. In his 
fourth book, chap. 151, he mentions a man who was a purple- 
dyer by trade, the word signifying equally one who procures the 
Molluscs as one who dyes the threads of which the purple fabrics 
are woven. 

The dye-producing power is not restricted to the whelks, but 
is shared by other Molluscs. For example, the Diadem Stair- 
case Shell (Scalaria diadema) secretes a substance which pro- 
duces a purple hue, and the Cerithium telescopium produces a 
dye which retains its green hue, instead of passing into blue 
and red. 

The Hebrew word argaman, which signifies the regal purple, 
occurs several times in Scripture, and takes a slightly different 
form according to the Chaldaic or Hebraic idiom. 

For example, we find it in Exod. xxv. 4 : " This is the offering 
which ye shall take of them : gold, and silver, and brass, 

" And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen," &c. &c. 

It occurs again in 2 Chron. ii. 7 : " Send me now therefore a 
man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in 
iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue.''" These words are 
repeated in ver. 14. 

A very important use of this word is found in Dan. v. 7 : 
"And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, 
Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpreta- 
tion thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet " (" purple " in margin), 
" and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third 
ruler in the kingdom." Here we find that the dye in question 
was a regal one, that the wearing it was a matter of sumptuary 
law, and that the fact of being allowed to wear it was a sign 
that the wearer was of the very highest rank. 

The Jewish Bible invariably translates the word as "red- 
purple." 

That the preparers of the precious purple colour took care to 
preserve their art a secret, is evident from the writings of the 



THE SNAIL. 589 

Talmudists, who had the very vaguest ideas respecting the dye. 
They knew that it was obtained from a marine Mollusc, but 
thought that the creature only made its appearance once in 
seventy years, and that this scarcity was the cause of its 
costliness. They said that the dye obtained from one sea was 
blackish, evidently referring to the ink of the cuttle ; that 
when it was obtained from- another it was violet, and that the 
Phoenician waters alone produced the true red-purple hue. 

They accounted for its colour by saying that the animal took 
the colour of the sea which it inhabited : the sea was like the 
sky which it reflected, the sky was like the throne of God, and 
the throne of God was like the sapphire. Therefore, the dye 
was like the sapphire. It is not impossible even that the dyers 
exhibited specimens of the Violet Snail, or Janthina, which is 
of a rich blue colour, and which would readily be accepted as 
the source of the Tynan dye. 



THE SNAIL. 



The Snail which melteth — Rendering of the Jewish Bible — Theory respecting txu 
track of the Snail — The Hebrew word Shablul — Various Snails of Palestine. 



There is a very remarkable and not very intelligible passage 
in Ps. lviii. 8 : " As a snail which melteth, let every one of them 
pa,ss away." The Jewish Bible renders the passage in a way 
which explains the idea which evidently prevailed at the time 
when the Psalms were composed : "Asa snail let him melt as 
he passeth on." 

The ancients had an idea that the slimy track made by a 
Snail as it crawled along was subtracted from the substance of 
its body, and that in consequence the farther it crept, the smaller 
it became, until at last it wasted entirely away. The com- 
mentators on the Talmud took this view of the case. The 
Hebrew word shablul, which undoubtedly does signify a Snail 
of some kind, is thus explained : " The Shablul is a creeping 



590 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

thing ; when it comes out of its shell, saliva pours from itself, 
until it becomes liquid, and so dies." 

Other explanations of this passage have been offered, but 
there is no doubt that the view taken by these commentators is 
the correct one, and that the Psalmist, when he wrote the 
terrible series of denunciations in which the passage in question 
occurs, had in his mind the popular belief regarding the gradual 
wasting away of the Snail as it " passeth on." 

It is needless to say that no particular species of Snail is 
mentioned, and almost as needless to state that in Palestine 
there are many species of Snails, to any or all of which these 
words are equally applicable. 



THE ONYCHA. 



Ingredients of the sacred incense— The Onyx, or Onycha— Derivation of the 
word — The Arabic Dofr — The Doofu of Abyssinia — Odour of the perfume. 



In Exod. xxx. 34 there occurs a remarkable word, shecheleth, 
which is used to describe one of the ingredients of the incense 
to be used in Divine worship. The Jewish Bible renders the 
word rightly, " onycha," while Buxtorf renders it by " onyx," a 
word which is likely to mislead the reader, and to cause him to 
believe it to be a mineral, and not an animal substance. 

The Onycha is the operculum of one of the Strombi or Wing- 
shells, and derives its name from the resemblance which it 
bears in those shells to a nail or claw. The Greek word onyx 
primarily signifies a nail, and is indeed the origin of our own 
word. Secondarily, it is used to denote a precious stone, partly 
because the white bands of the sardonyx bear some resemblance 
to the white semi-lunar marks at the base of human nails. In 
consequence of the resemblance of the operculum to a claw or 
nail, the Arabs call the Wing-shell " D of r-el- afrit," or Afrit's 
{i.e. demon's) claw. 

The operculum of the Wing-shells has a sharp and powerful 
scent when burned, and, when mixed with substances more 






THE ONYCHA. 591 

fragrant but less powerful, it has the effect of adding to their 
potency if not to their fragrance. 

A remarkable corroboration of this rendering occurs in Mr. 
Mansfield Parkyns's valuable "Life in Abyssinia." In the 
Appendix to vol. i. in which the commerce of Abyssinia and 
the Eed Sea is described, the following entry occurs : — " October 5, 
1848. Sailed for Suakim in a native boat. Cargo : muslins, 
marawdi, Surat tobacco, sandal- wood, and doofu. This article 
is the operculum or horny substance with which some species 
of shell-fish are furnished to protect the mouth of their shells. 
These in some parts of Nubia are used for perfume, being burnt 
with sandal-wood." 

Here we have one or two points worthy of notice. In the 
first place, it is evident that the Doofu of the Abyssinians is 
identical with the Dofr of the Arabs. In the second place we 
find that it is not used alone as a perfume, but is burned 
together with the fragrant sandal-wood. Lastly, we find that 
the materials of the incense which were ordained for the special 
use of the Jewish worship were derived from North-Eastern 
Africa, and were in all probability familiar to the Jews from 
their long residence in Egypt. 

The opercula of all the Strombidse possess this powerful, 
though not very fragrant odour, which has been compared to 
that of spices, or castoreum, and probably acts the part which is 
played in many modern perfumes by materials which in them- 
selves possess an odour the reverse of fragrant. 

The mineral onyx is represented by a different Hebrew word, 
namely, shoham. 



S92 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE PEAEL. 

The Pearl of Scripture — Wisdom compared to Pearl — Different renderings of the 
Hebrew word — Opinions of the Talmudists — Structure of Pearls — The Pearls of 
the marine and aquatic mussels — Pearl-fisheries of the Conway — Metaphorical 
uses of the Pearl — The Pearl of great price— Casting Pearls before swine — An 
ancient proverb. 

There is only one passage in the Old Testament in which can 
be found the word which is translated as Pearl, and it is certain 
that the word in question may have another interpretation. 

The word in question is gabish, and occurs in Job xxviii. 18. 
Treating of wisdom, in that magnificent passage beginning, " But 
where shall Wisdom be found, and where is the place of under- 
standing ? " the sacred writer uses these words, " No mention 
shall be made of coral, or of pearls : for the price of wisdom is 
above rubies." This is the only passage in the Bible which 
contains the word in its simple form, but there are two others 
in which it is found with the addition of the syllable el, con- 
nected with the word abne, or stone. In this form, it is trans- 
lated in the Authorized Version as " hailstones." 

See Ezek. xiii. 11 : " Say unto them which daub it with un- 
tempered morter, that it shall fall : there shall be an overflowing 
shower; and ye, great Hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy 
wind shall rend it." Also xxxviii. 22 : " And I will plead 
against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain 
upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that 
are with him, an overflowing rain, and great Hailstones, fire, and 
brimstone." 

The Jewish Bible accepts the rendering of " hailstones " in 
both these passages, but affixes the mark of doubt to the word, 
whereas in Job xxviii. 18 it translates the word gabish as 
" pearls" without using any mark of doubt. In Buxtorl's Hebrew 
Lexicon, the word is translated as " Unio, Margarita pretiosa" 
It is not, however, difficult to see that the word gabish may 



THE PEARL. 593 

primarily signify either ice or Pearl, and that the one may have 
been used metaphorically for the other. 

The Talmudical writers had much to say on the subject of 
Pearls, but, before proceeding to their curious disquisitions, it 
will be as well to describe briefly the Pearl and its origin. 

We are all familiar with the shining inner coating or " nacre " 
possessed by many bivalve molluscs, such as the common mussels 
and oysters. This coating is sometimes found upon extraneous 
substances deposited on the " mantle " of the animal, and then 
takes the name of " Pearl." Sometimes these are found in the 
common oyster. 

For example, I have before me some Pearls about as large 
as No. 5 shot, that I took out of a single plateful of oysters. 
They are dull in colour and irregular in form, but they are per- 
fect Pearls. 

Then the common edible mussel frequently contains Pearls, 
which, however, are almost invariably small, and compara- 
tively valueless. It is mentioned by Pliny that Julius Caesar 
obtained in Britain a sufficient number of Pearls to cover a 
breastplate, which he dedicated to Venus, and hung in her 
temple. It is evident from Pliny's account that the Pearls 
in question were small and comparatively valueless, and it 
has been shrewdly suggested that Caesar only presented them 
to the goddess because the Roman ladies would not have 
worn them. 

These Pearls were in all probability obtained from the common 
edible mussel which grows so abundantly on our coasts, and not, 
as has been generally thought, from the river Pearl-mussel, 
which really produces Pearls of considerable value. The cele- 
brated pearl-fishers of the Conway employ the edible mussel, 
and sell the Pearls at a certain price per ounce. 

The scientific name of the river Pearl-shell is Unio marga- 
ritiferus, which is found in best condition in rapid mountain 
streams. It is plentiful in many of the Irish rivers, from which 
Pearls of considerable value have been procured. One of these 
Pearls, seen by Sir R Eedding set in a necklace, was purchased 
for thirty pounds by the owner, who had refused nearly three 
times the sum for it. 

Perhaps the most celebrated Pearl-mussel is that of the 
Chinese, Dipsas plicalus. This species attains a considerable 
39 



5M BIBLE ANIMALS. 

size, a specimen in my possession being seven inches in length 
and five in width. 

The Chinese make a singular use of this mussel. They string 
a number of globular pellets, and introduce them between the 




PEARL OYSTER. 

" And the twelve gates were twelve pearls." — Rev. xxi. 21. 

valves of the mussel, so that in course of time the creature 
deposits a coating of pearly substance upon them, and forms a 
very good imitation of real Pearls. They also stamp little 
images, popularly called josses, out of metal, and force the animal 
to cover them with nacre in a similar manner. Six such josses 
are in my specimen. Frequently, however, these incorrigible 
imitators actually counterfeit the sham pearls, merely taking 
the josses and pellets, laying them in shells from which the 
animal has been removed, and washing them with a solution 



THE PEARL. 595 

which, when dry, looks so like nacre that it cannot be distin- 
guished from that substance without much difficulty. 

The best Pearls are those which are procured from the well- 
known Pearl Oyster (Meleagrina margaritifera), which is found 
in several parts of the world, and which constitutes the prin- 
cipal source of wealth to the localities where it most abounds. 

The Talmudical commentators wrote rather copiously about 
the Pearl, respecting the nature of which they were somewhat 
perplexed, as it was a gem and yet not a mineral. They thought 
that it lay at the bottom of the sea, under flat, slab-like stones 
some of which had Pearls beneath them, but the greater part 
were without them. In consequence of the difficulty of diving 
and the precariousness of the search, a number of proverbs 
were current. For example, a person who persevered in some 
fruitless search was said to be a diver who brought up stones 
without Pearls. If one person laboured and another took the 
credit, it was said that the one would not have found the Pearl 
if the other had not brought up the stone. 

In consequence of the labour and research required for seek- 
ing wisdom, it was proverbially likened to a Pearl, and in this 
sense we must understand the warning of our Lord, not to cast 
Pearls before swine. The " pearl of great price " is another form 
of the same metaphor. 

This metaphor holds good in almost all Oriental languages. 

There is also a proverb which bears a curious resemblance to 
the well-known " painting the lily and gilding refined gold :" 
" Whoso praises a priceless pearl undervalues it." 



S96 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



INSECTS. 

Insects Beetles not mentioned in Scripture — The Locust — Various species of the 
insect, and different words used to signify it — The Arbeh of Scripture, and its 
derivation— The two migratory Locusts at rest and on the wing — The Locust 
swarms — Gordon Cumming's account — Progress of the insect hosts — Vain 
attempts to check them — Tossed up and down as a Locust — Effect of the winds 
on the insect — The east and the west winds — Locusts used for food — Ancient 
and modem travellers — The food of St. John. 

Considering the vast variety of insects which are found in 
Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, it is somewhat remarkable that so 
few should be mentioned by name. Not one single coleopteran 
is mentioned ; for, although the Hebrew word chargol, which 
occurs in Lev. xi. 21, 22, is rendered in the Authorized Version 
as " beetle/' the context shows that it could not have been a 
coleopterous insect at all, but must have belonged to the locusts. 
We will therefore pass to the insect next in order 



THE LOCUST. 

Of the Locusts there are several species in Palestine, two of 
which are represented in the accompanying plate. Those on the 
ground are the common Migratory Locusts (CEdipoda migra- 
toria), while those on the wing, which have long heads, are a 
species of Truxalis. 

At least four species of Locust are mentioned in the Scrip- 
tures, one of them being the beetle of the Authorized Version ; 
and it is probable that one or two words which are differently 
rendered in the Authorized Version are either names of different 
species of Locusts, or are synonyms for the same species. 

We will first take the different Hebrew words which are 
translated as " Locust," and then proceed to the description of 
the insects themselves. 

The first of those words is arbeh, about the rendering of 




THE LOCUST. 
'AH thy trees shall the locust consume." — Dbut. xxviii. 42. 



THE LOCUST. 597 

which there is no doubt whatever. It occurs many times in 
the Scriptures, and, even if its signification were doubtful, the 
context would be sufficient to denote the proper rendering of 
the word. Take, for example, the account in Exod. x. of the 
threatened plague of Locusts. Nothing can be more terse and 
graphic than the description of the Arbeh, its vast multitudes, 
its sudden arrival, and its destructive power. 

In Judges vi. 5 the word is translated as " grasshopper." " For 
they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came 
as grasshoppers for multitude ; for both they and their camels 
were without number : and they entered into the land to destroy 
it." Translating the word rightly as " Locust," we see the real 
force of this passage. Grasshoppers may inhabit a spot, and do 
no great harm, but the Locusts invade whole districts, coming 
like destructive armies upon it, and causing utter destruction as 
long as they remain. 

In 1 Kings viii. 37, Solomon speaks of the presence of the Arbeh 
among the most terrible calamities that can befall a country, 
and classes it with famine, drought, pestilence, and siege. In 
Prov. xxx. 27 the same writer remarks on the curious fact that 
these creatures are gregarious and migratory, and yet- have no 
leader, as is mostly the case with gregarious animals. " The 
locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." 

Allusion is made to the vast number of the Arbeh in Jer. xlvi. : 
" They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it can- 
not be searched ; because they are more than the grasshoppers, 
and are innumerable." The voracity of the Arbeh is mentioned 
in Joel i. 4 and ii. 25. These are but a few passages selected 
out of the many in which the Arbeh is mentioned, in order to 
show how completely the word corresponds with the character of 
the Locust. The word is derived from a Hebrew root signifying 
multitudes, and is therefore appropriately used for these insects, 
which singly are so feeble, and collectively are so tenible. 

Next comes the word chagab, which evidently signifies some 
migratory and gregarious Locust, though we cannot say pre- 
cisely to which species it refers. The word is mostly translated 
as "grasshopper," and, from the context of several passages, it 
seems to have been less in size than the Arbeh, inasmuch as 
it is used as a metaphor to express smallness. See, for example, 
Numb. xiii. 31 — 33, where is recorded the false report of the spies 



598 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

whom Moses sent to inspect the land. " The men that went up 
said, We be not able to go up against the people ; for they are 
stronger than we. 

" And they brought up an evil report of the land which they 
had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, 
through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth 
up the inhabitants thereof ; and all the people that we saw in 
it are men of a great stature. 

" And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come 
of the giants : and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers" 
(chagabim) , " and so we were in their sight." 

A similar metaphor is employed by the Prophet Isaiah : " It 
is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabi- 
tants thereof are as grasshoppers " (xl. 22). And in Eccles. xii. 5 
extreme weakness is forcibly indicated by the words, " the 
grasshopper " (chagab) " shall be a burden." 

Now the two principal species of Locust which travel in 
bands and devastate the country are the common Migratory 
Locust ((Edipoda migratoria) and the Acridium pcreginum. If, 
therefore, the word arbeh expresses one of these insects, it is 
probable that the word chagab signifies the other. 

The Bald Locust of Lev. xi. 22 is probably some species of 
Truxalis, the insects belonging to this genus having long and 
smooth heads. The Hebrew word is sallom, and the Jewish Bible 
leaves it untranslated. The word chargol which also occurs 
in the same passage, and is translated in the Authorized Ver- 
sion as " beetle," is in all probability a species of Locust, as it 
is classed with those insects which have " legs above their feet 
to leap withal." 

Besides these w T ords, we find that others translated as " cater- 
pillar," " palmerworm," and " cankerworm " may be synonyms for 
the Locust, either different species, or as expressing the same 
species in its various stages of development. (See Lepidoptera, 
page 632.) 

We will now pass on to the insect and its habits, taking the 
Migratory Locust as the type of its family. 

The Locust belongs to the great order of Orthoptera, or 
straight-winged insects. They have, when fully developed, 
four wings, the two front being thick and membraneous, while 
the two hinder wings are large, delicate, translucent, and 



THE LOCUST. 599 

folded longitudinally under the front pair of wings when the 
insect is at rest. In the Locusts these characteristics are 
admirably shown. The appearance of a Locust when at rest 
and when flying is so different that the creature is at first 
sight scarcely recognisable as the same creature. When at 
rest, it is a compact and tolerably stout insect, with a dull 
though delicately coloured body ; but when it takes flight it 
appears to attain twice its previous dimensions. 

The front pair of wings, which alone were seen before they 
were expanded, became comparatively insignificant, while the 
hinder pair, which were before invisible, became the most pro- 
minent part of the insect, their translucent folds being coloured 
with the most brilliant hues, according to the species. The body 
seems to have shrunk as the wings have increased, and to have 
diminished to half its previous size, while the long legs that pre- 
viously were so conspicuous are stretched out like the legs of a 
flying heron. 

All the Locusts are vegetable- feeders, and do great harm 
wherever they happen to be plentiful, their powerful jaws 
severing even the thick grass stems as if cut by scissors. But it 
is only when they invade a country that their real power is felt. 
They come flying with the wind in such vast multitudes that 
the sky is darkened as if by thunder-clouds ; and when they 
settle, every vestige of green disappears off the face of the earth. 

Mr. Gordon Cumming once saw a flight of these Locusts. 
They flew about three hundred feet from the ground, and came 
on in thick, solid masses, forming one unbroken cloud. On all 
sides nothing was to be seen but Locusts. The air was full of 
them, and the plain was covered with them, and for more than 
an hour the insect army flew past him. When the Locusts settle, 
they eat with such voracity that the sound caused by their jaws 
cutting the leaves and grass can be heard at a great distance ; 
and even the young Locusts, which have no wings, and are 
graphically termed by the Dutch colonists of Southern Africa 
• voet-gangers," or foot-goers, are little inferior in power of jaw 
to the fully-developed insect. 

As long as they have a favourable wind, nothing stops the 
progress of the Locusts. They press forward just like the vast 
herds of antelopes that cover the plains of Africa, or the bisons 
that blacken the prairies of America, and the progress of even 



600 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

the wingless young is as irresistible as that of the adult insects. 
Regiments of soldiers have in vain attempted to stop them. 
Trenches have been dug across their path, only to be filled up 
in a few minutes with the advancing hosts, over whose bodies 
the millions of survivors continued their march. When the 
trenches were filled with water, the result was the same; and 
even when fire was substituted for water, the flames were 
quenched by the masses of Locusts that fell into them. When 
they come to a tree, they climb up it in swarms, and devour 
every particle of foliage, not even sparing the bark of the smaller 
branches. They ascend the walls of houses that come in the 
line of their march, swarming in at the windows, and gnawing 
in their hunger the very woodwork of the furniture. 

We shall now see how true to nature is the terrible prophecy 
of Joel. " A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds 
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: 
a great people and a strong ; there hath not been ever the like, 
neither shall be any more after it, even to the, years of many 
generations. 

" A fire devoureth before them ; and behind them a flame 
burnetii : the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and 
behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea, and nothing shall 
escape them. 

" The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses ; and 
as horsemen, so shall they run. 

" Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall 
they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the 
stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. . . . 

" They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall 
like men of war ; and they shall march every one on his ways, 
and they shall not break their ranks : 

" Neither shall one thrust another ; they shall walk every one 
in his path : and wdien they fall upon the sword, they shall not 
be wounded. 

" They shall run to and fro in the city ; they shall run upon 
the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses ; they shall enter 
in at the windows like a thief. 

" The earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall 
tremble : the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars 
shall withdraw their shining: 



THE LOCUST. 601 

" And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army : for His 
camp is very great" (Joel ii. 2 — 11). 

Nothing can be more vividly accurate than this splendid 
description of the Locust armies. First we have the darkness 
caused by them as they fly like black clouds between the sun 
and the earth. Then comes the contrast between the blooming 
and fertile aspect of the land before they settle on it, and its 
utter desolation when they leave it. Then the poet-prophet 
alludes to the rushing noise of their flight, which he compares 
to the sound of chariots upon the mountains, and to the compact 
masses in which they pass over the ground like soldiers on the 
march. The impossibility of checking them is shown in verse 8, 
and their climbing the walls of houses and entering the chambers 
in verse 9. 

There is one passage in the Scriptures which at first sight 
seems rather obscure, but is clear enough when we understand 
the character of the insect to which it refers : "lam gone like 
the shadow when it declineth : I am tossed up and down as the 
locust" (Ps. cix. 23). 

Although the Locusts have sufficient strength of flight to 
remain on the wing for a considerable period, and to pass over 
great distances, they have little or no command over the direc- 
tion of their flight, and always travel with the wind, just as has 
been mentioned regarding the quail. So entirely are they at the 
mercy of the wind, that if a sudden gust arises the Locusts are 
tossed about in the most helpless manner ; and if they should 
happen to come across one of the circular air-currents that are 
so frequently found in the countries which they inhabit, they are 
whirled round and round without the least power of extricating 
themselves. 

The course then of the Locust-swarms depends entirely on the 
direction of the wind. They are brought by the wind, and they 
are taken away by the wind, as is mentioned in the sacred 
narrative. In the account of the great plague of Locusts, the 
wind is mentioned as the proximate cause both of their arrival 
and their departure. See, for example, Exod. x. 12, 13 : 

" And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over 
the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon 
the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that 
the hail hath left. 



602 BIBLE AOTMALS. 

" And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, 
and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land ail that day, 
and all that night ; and when it was morning, the east wind 
brought the locusts." 

Afterwards, when Moses was brought before Pharaoh, and 
entreated to remove the plague which had been brought upon 
the land, the west wind was employed to take the Locusts away, 
just as the east wind had brought them. 

" He went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord. 

" And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took 
away the locusts, and cast them into the Eed Sea ; there remained 
not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt" (Exod. x. 18, 19). 

Modern travellers have given accounts of these Locust armies, 
which exactly correspond with the sacred narrative. One tra- 
veller mentions that, after a severe storm, the Locusts were 
destroyed in such multitudes, that they were heaped in a sort 
of wall, varying from three to four feet in height, fifty miles in 
length, and almost unapproachable, on account of the odour of 
their decomposing bodies. 

We uow come to the use of Locusts as food. 

Very few id sects have been recognised as fit for human food, 
even among uncivilized nations, and it is rather singular that 
the Israelites, whose dietary was so scrupulously limited, should 
have been permitted the use of the Locust. These insects are, 
however, eaten in all parts of the world which they frequent, 
and in some places form an important article of diet, thus 
compensating in some way for the amount of vegetable food 
which they consume. 

Herodotus, for example, when describing the various tribes of 
Libyans, mentions the use of the Locust as an article of diet. 
" The Nasamones, a very numerous people, adjoin these Auschisse 
westward .... When they have caught- locusts, they dry 
them in the sun, reduce them to powder, and, sprinkling them 
in milk, drink them." (Melpomene, ch. 172.) 

This is precisely the plan which is followed at the present 
day by the Bosjesmans of Southern Africa. 

To them the Locusts are a blessing, and not a plague. They 
till no ground, so that they care nothing for crops, and they 
breed no cattle, so that they are indifferent about pasture land. 



THE LOCUST. 603 

When they see a cloud of Locusts in the distance they light 
great fires, and heap plenty of green boughs upon them, so as 
to create a thick smoke. The Locusts have no idea of avoiding 
these smoke columns, but fly over the fires, and, stifled by the 
vapour, fall to the ground, where they are caught in vast numbers 
by the Bosjesmans. 

When their captors have roasted and eaten as many as they 
can manage to devour, they dry the rest over the fires, pulverize 
them between two stones, and keep the meal for future use, 
mixing it with water, or, if they can get it, with milk. 

We will now take a few accounts given by travellers of the 
present day, selecting one or two from many. Mr. W. G. Pal- 
grave, in his " Central and Eastern Arabia," gives a description 
of the custom of eating Locusts. " On a sloping bank, at a 
short distance in front, we discerned certain large black patches, 
in strong contrast with the white glisten of the soil around, and 
at the same time our attention was attracted by a strange 
whizzing, like that of a flight of hornets, close along the ground, 
while our dromedaries capered and started as though struck 
with sudden insanity. 

"The cause of all this was a vast swarm of locusts, here 
alighted in their northerly wanderings from their birthplace in 
the Dahna ; their camp extended far and wide, and we had 
already disturbed their outposts. These insects are wont to 
settle on the ground after sunset, and there, half-stupified by 
the night chill, await the morning rays, which warm them once 
more into life and movement. 

" This time, the dromedaries did the work of the sun, and it 
would be hard to say which of the two were the most frightened, 
they or the locusts. It was truly laughable to see so huge a 
beast lose his wits for fear at the flight of a harmless, stingless 
insect, for, of all timid creatures, none equal this ' ship of the 
desert' for cowardice. 

" But, if the beasts were frightened, not so their masters. 
I really thought they would have gone mad for joy. Locusts 
are here an article of food, nay, a dainty, and a good swarm of 
them is begged of Heaven in Arabia, . . . 

" The locust, when boiled or fried, is said to be delicious, and 
boiled and fried accordingly they are to an incredible extent. 
However, I never could persuade myself to taste them, what- 



604 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

ever invitations the inhabitants of the land, smacking their lips 
over large dishes full of entomological ' delicatesses,' would make 
me to Join them. Barakat ventured on one for a trial. He 
pronounced it oily and disgusting, nor added a second to the 
first : it is caviare to unaccustomed palates. 

" The swarm now before us was a thorough godsend for our 
Arabs, on no account to be neglected. Thirst, weariness, all 
were forgotten, and down the riders leaped from their starting 
camels. This one spread out a cloak, that one a saddle-bag, a 
third his shirt, over the unlucky creatures, destined for the 
morning meal. Some flew away, whizzing across our feet ; 
others were caught, and tied up in sacks." 

Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, in his " Life in Abyssinia," mentions 
that the true Abyssinian will not eat the Locust, but that the 
negroes and Arabs do so. He describes the flavour as being 
something between the burnt end of a quill and a crumb of 
linseed cake. The flavour, however, depends much on the 
mode of cooking, and, as some say, on the nature of the Locusts' 
food. 

Signor Pierotti states, in his " Customs and Traditions of 
Palestine," that Locusts are really excellent food, and that he 
was accustomed to eat them, not from necessity, but from choice, 
and compares their flavour to that of shrimps. 

Dr. Livingstone makes a similar comparison. In Palestine, 
Locusts are eaten either roasted or boiled in salt and water, but, 
when preserved for future use, they are dried in the sun, their 
heads, wings, and legs picked off, and their bodies ground into 
dust. This dust has naturally a rather bitter flavour, which is 
corrected by mixing it with camel's milk or honey, the latter 
being the favourite substance. 

We may now see that the food of St. John the Baptist was, 
like his dress, that of a people who lived at a distance from 
towns, and that there was no more hardship in the one than in 
the other. Some commentators have tried to prove that St. John 
fed on the fruit of the locust or carob tree — the same that is 
used so much in this country for feeding cattle ; but there is 
not the least ground for such an explanation. The account oi 
his life, indeed, requires no explanation ; Locust-dust, mixed 
with honey, being an ordinary article of food even at the pre 
sent day. 



THE BEE. 605 



HYMENOPTERA. 



THE BEE. 

The Hebrew word Debdrak — The Honey Bee of Palestine — Abundance of Bees in 
the Holy Land — Habitations of the wild Bee — Hissing for the Bee — Bees in 
dead carcases — The honey of Scripture — Domesticated Bees and their hives — 
Stores of wild honey — The story of Jonathan — The Crusaders and the honey — 
Butter and honey — Oriental sweetmeats — The Dibs, or grape-honey, and mode 
of preparation — Wax, its use as a metaphor. 

Passing for the moment the order of insects called Neuroptera, 
which may possibly be represented in the Scriptural writings by 
the Termites, which would be classed with the ants, we come to 
the vast order of Hymenoptera, of which we find several repre- 
sentatives. Beginning with that which is most familiar to us, 
we will take the Bee, an insect which is frequently mentioned 
in the Scriptures, and to which indirect allusion is made in 
many passages, such as those which mention honey, honey- 
comb, and wax. 

Fortunately, there is no doubt about the rendering of the 
Hebrew word deborah, which has always been acknowledged 
to be rightly translated as "Bee." There has, however, been 
a difference of opinion as to the derivation of the word, some 
Hebraists thinking that it is derived from a word which signi- 
fies departure, or going forth, in allusion to its habit of 
swarming, while others derive it from the Hebrew ddbar, a 
word which signifies speech, and is appropriate to the Bee on 
account of the varied sounds of its hum, which were supposed 
to be the language of the insect. 

The Honey Bee is exceedingly plentiful in Palestine, and in 
some parts of the country multiplying to such an extent that 
the precipitous ravines in which it takes up its residence are 
almost impassable by human beings, so jealous are the Bees of 



606 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



their domains. Although the Bee is not exactly the same 
species as that of our own country, being the Banded Bee 
[Apis fasciata), and not the Apis mellifica, the two insects very 
much resemble each other in shape, colour, and habits. Both of 
them share the instinctive dislike of strangers and jealousy of 




THE BEE. 

; 7"ney shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys and in the holes of the rocks." — Isa. vii. 19. 



intrusion, and the Banded Bee of Palestine has as great an 
objection to intrusion as its congener of England. 

Several allusions are made in the Scriptures to this trait in 
the character of the Bee. See, for example, Deut. i 44 : " And 
the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against 
you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, 
even unto Hormah." All those who have had the misfortune 
to offend Bees will recognise the truth of this metaphor, the 



THE BEE. 607 

Amorites swarming out of the mountain like wild Bees out 
of the rocky clefts which serve them as hives, and chasing the 
intruder fairly out of their domains. 

A similar metaphor is employed in the Psalms : " They com- 
passed me about ; yea, they compassed me about ; but in the 
name of the Lord I will destroy them. 

" They compassed me about like bees, they are quick as 
the tire of thorns, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy 
them." 

There is another passage in which the Bee is mentioned in 
the light of an enemy : " And it shall come to pass in that 
day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the utter- 
most part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in 
the land of Assyria. 

" And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the deso- 
late valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, 
and upon all bushes" (Isa. vii. 18, 19). Some commentators have 
thought that the word which is translated as "Bee" may in this 
case refer to some noxious fly, which, although it is not a Bee, 
and does not even belong to the same order of insects, has 
a sufficiently Bee-like appearance to cause it to be classed 
among the Bees by the non-zoological Orientals. The context, 
however, sets the question at rest ; for the allusions to the 
resting of the insect in the holes of the rock, upon the thorns, 
and on the bushes, clearly refers to the mode in which the 
Honey Bee throws off its swarms. 

The custom of swarming is mentioned in one of the earlier 
books of Scripture. The reader will remember that, after 
Samson had killed the lion which met him on the way, he 
left the carcase alone. The various carnivorous beasts and birds 
at once discover such a banquet, and in a very short time the 
body of a dead animal is reduced to a hollow skeleton, partially 
or entirely covered with skin, the rays of the sun drying and 
hardening the skin until it is like horn. 

In exceptionally hot weather, the same result occurs even in 
this country. Some years before this account was written there 
was a very hot and dry summer, and a great mortality took 
place among the sheep. So manv indeed died that at last 
their owners merely flayed them, and left their bodies to perish. 
One of the dead sheep had been thrown into a rather thick 



608 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

copse, and had fallen in a spot where it was sheltered from the 
wind, and yet exposed to the fierce heat of the summer's sun. 
The consequence was that in a few days it was reduced to a 
mere shell. The heat hardened and dried the external layer of 
flesh so that not even the carnivorous beetles could penetrate it, 
while the whole of the interior dissolved into a semi-putrescent 
state, and was rapidly devoured by myriads of blue-bottles and 
other larvae. 

It was so thoroughly dried that scarcely any evil odour clung 
to it, and as soon as I came across it the story of Samson 
received a simple elucidation. In the hotter Eastern lands, the 
whole process would have been more rapid and more com- 
plete, and the skeleton of the lion, with the hard and horny 
skin strained over it, would afford exactly the habitation of 
which a wandering swarm of Bees would take advantage. At 
the present day swarms of wild Bees often make their habi- 
tations within the desiccated bodies of dead camels that have 
perished on the way. 

As to the expression " hissing " for the Bee, the reader must 
bear in mind that a sharp, short hiss is the ordinary call in 
Palestine, when one person desires to attract the attention of 
another. A similar sound, which may perhaps be expressed by 
the letters tst. prevails on the Continent at the present day. 
Signor Pierotti remarks that the inhabitants of Palestine are 
even now accustomed to summon Bees by a sort of hissing 
sound. 

Whether the honey spoken of in the Scriptures was obtained 
from wild or domesticated Bees is not very certain, but, as the 
manners of the East are much the same now as they were three 
thousand years ago, it is probable that Bees were kept then 
as they are now. The hives are not in the least like ours, 
but are cylindrical vases of coarse earthenware, laid horizontally, 
much like the bark hives employed in many parts of Southern 
Africa, 

In some places the hives are actually built into the walls 
of the houses, the closed end of the cylinder projecting into the 
interior, while an entrance is made for the Bees in the other end, 
so that the insects have no business in the house. When the 
inhabitants wish to take the honey, they resort to the operation 
which is technically termed "driving" by bee masters. 



THE BEE. 609 

They gently tap the end within the house, and continue the 
tapping until the Bees, annoyed by the sound, have left the hive. 
They then take out the circular door that closes the end of the 
hive, remove as much comb as they want, carefully put back 
those portions which contain grubs and bee-bread, and replace 
the door, when the Bees soon return and fill up the gaps in 
the combs. As to the wasteful, cruel, and foolish custom of 
" burning " the Bees, the Orientals never think of practising it. 

In many places the culture of Bees is carried out to a very 
great extent, numbers of the earthenware cylinders being piled 
on one another, and a quantity of mud thrown over them in 
order to defend them from the rays of the sun, which would 
soon melt the wax of the combs. 

In consequence of the geographical characteristics of the Holy 
Land, which supplies not only convenient receptacles for the Bees 
in the rocks, but abundance of thyme and similar plants, vast 
stores of bee-comb are to be found in the cliffs, and form no 
small part of the wealth of the people. 

Eeference to this kind of property is made by the Prophet 
Jeremiah. When Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had treacher- 
ously killed Gedaliah and others, ten men tried to propitiate 
him by a bribe : " Slay us not, for we have treasures in the 
field, of wheat, of barley, and of oil, and of honey " (chap. xli. 8). 
References to the wild honey are frequent in the Scriptures. 
For example, in the magnificent song of Moses the Lord is 
said to have made Israel to "suck honey out of the rock" 
(Deut. xxxii. 13). See also Psalm lxxxi. 16 : " He should 
have fed them also with the finest of the wheat : and with honey 
out of the rock should 1 have satisfied thee." 

The abundance of wild honey is shown by the memorable 
events recorded in 1 Sam. xiv. Saul had prohibited all the 
people from eating until the evening. Jonathan, who had not 
heard the prohibition, was faint and weary, and, seeing honey 
dripping on the ground from the abundance and weight of 
the comb, he took it up on the end of his staff, and ate sufficient 
to restore his strength. 

Thus, if we refer again to the history of St. John the Baptist 

and his food, we shall find that he was in no danger of starving 

for want of nourishment, the Bees breeding abundantly in the 

desert places he frequented, and affording him a plentiful supply 

40 



610 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of the very material which was needed to correct the deficiencies 
of the dried locusts which he used instead of bread. 

The expression ' ' a land flowing with milk and honey " has 
become proverbial as a metaphor expressive of plenty. Those to 
whom the words were spoken understood it as something more 
than a metaphor. In the work to which reference has already 
been made Signor Pierotti writes as follows : — "Let us now see 
how far the land could be said to flow with milk and honey 
during the latter part of its history and at the present day. 

" We find that honey was abundant in the time of the 
Crusades, for the English, who followed Edward T. to Palestine, 
died in great numbers from the excessive heat, and from eating 
too much fruit and honey. (See M. Sanutus, ' Liber secretorum 
fidelium Crucis' lib. iii. p. xii.) 

" At the present day, after traversing the country in every 
direction, I am able to affirm that in the south-east and north- 
east, where the ancient customs of the patriarchs are most fully 
preserved, and the effects of civilization have been felt least, 
milk and honey may still be said to flow, as they form a portion 
of every meal, and may even be more abundant than water, 
which fails occasionally in the heat of summer. ... I have often 
eaten of the comb, which I found very good and of delicious 
fragrance." 

A reference to sickness occasioned by eating too much honey 
occurs in Pro v. xxv. 16: "Hast thou found honey? Eat s*j 
much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and 
vomit it.'' A similar warning is given in verse 27 : "It is not 
good to eat much honey : so for men to search their own glory is 
not glory." 

So plentiful indeed was the wild honey that it was exported to 
other countries, and in the palmy days of Israel formed part of 
a regular trade with Tyre. See Ezek. xxvii. 17 : " Judah and 
the land of Israel, they were thy merchants : they traded in thy 
market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and 
balm." 

In one or two passages honey is mentioned as being eaten 
with butter. (See, for example, 2 Sam. xvii. 29.) When 
David and his followers were wearied at Mahanaim, the people 
brought presents to him, among which are specially mentioned 
butter and honey. 



THE BEE. 611 

Then there is the familiar prophecy, "Behold a virgin shali 
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse 
the evil and choose the good." The same image is repeated 
in the same chapter : " And it shall come to pass for the 
abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter : 
for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the 
land" (ver. 22). 

This mixture is at the present day a favourite one. All 
Orientals are fond of sweets, and in the composition of many of 
their favourite sweetmeats use honey instead of sugar. But an 
extemporized sweetmeat is often made by mixing together honey 
and butter, and eating it without further preparation. 

It is right to mention here that there is a substance which is 
sometimes called honey, but which is not made by Bees. This 
is still used in Palestine under the name of " dibs," a word which 
is almost identical with the Hebrew d'bash. A very excellent 
account of this preparation is given by Mr. Urquhart in his 
" Lebanon." " The dibs, the honey of Scripture, which Jacob 
sent to Joseph, is the inspissated juice of the grape. It is of 
two sorts : one dark and liquid, resembling molasses — this is the 
racon ; the other is thick, and of a yellow brown, and is called 
dibs (jibes). In every village there is an establishment for 
making it, some of them bearing marks of great antiquity. There 
are vats for pressing, and troughs cut in the rock for holding 
the juice, and a furnace for boiling it. 

" The grapes are not trodden by the feet, but laid in a heap and 
pressed by a beam, of which one end is fixed in the wall, and a 
heavy stone attached to the other, as the oil seems anciently to 
have been expressed, judging from the relics I observed near 
Tyre. The juice is then boiled in the iron pan for an hour, 
then poured back into the trough. After it has cooled it is 
again returned into the pan and boiled — if for the racon for 
three hours, if for the jibes four. 

" The process is thus complete for the first ; the second is still 
liquid, and is conveyed home, where, during a month, it is daily 
for an hour turned or beaten with a fresh branch of fig-tree, 
or botun. This property of the fig-tree is curious. . . . 
The racon takes four okes of grapes to make one oke ; the 



612 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

jibes five. The first is worth forty paras, and the second 
sixty." 

The Hebrew word donag, which has been rightly interpreted 
as wax, occurs very seldom in the Old Testament. JSTo mention 
is made of any use to which it was put, and in every instance 
it is employed simply as a metaphor. 

Three examples occur in the Psalms : "I am poured out 
like water, and all my bones are out of joint : my heart is like 
wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels " (Psa. xxii. 14). 

The word occurs again in Psa. lxviii. 2 : "As smoke is driven 
away, so drive them away : as wax melteth before the fire, so 
let the wicked perish at the presence of God." It occurs for 
the third time in Psa. xcvii. 5 : " The hills melted like wax at 
the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the 
whole earth." 

The Prophet Micah uses a similar image : " Behold the Lord 
cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, arid tread 
upon the high places of the earth. 

" And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the 
valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters 
that are poured down a steep place." (i. 3, 4.) 

The Bee represented on page 606 is the common Bee of 
Palestine, Apis fasciata. The lowest figure in the corner, with 
a long body and shut wings, is the queen. The central figure 
represents the drone, conspicuous by means of his large eyes, 
that almost join each other at the top of the head, and for his 
thicker and stouter body, while the third figure represents the 
worker Bee. Near them is shown the entrance to one of the 
natural hives which are so plentiful in the Holy Land, and are 
made in the "clefts of the rocks." A number of Bees are 
shown issuing from the hole. 



THE HORNET. 

The Tzirah or Hornet of Scripture — Travellers driven away by Hornets — The 
Hornet used as metaphor — Oriental symbolism — The Talmudical writers- 
Sting of the Hornet. 

Still keeping to the hymenopterous insects, we come to the 
Hornet. There are three passages in which occurs the word 
tzirah, which has been translated as Hornet. In every case 
when the word is mentioned the insect is employed in a meta- 
phorical sense. See, for example, Exod. xxiii. 27, 28 : "I will 
send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to 
whom thou shalt come ; and I will make all thine enemies turn 
their backs unto thee. 

" And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out 
the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee." 

A similar use of the word is made in Deut. vii. 20 : " More- 
over the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until 
they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed." 

The fulfilment of this promise is recorded in Josh. xxiv. 
11, 12 : " And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho : 
and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and 
the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the 
Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites ; and I delivered 
them into your hand. 

"And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out 
from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites ; but not 
with thy sword, nor with thy bow." 

It is most probable that in these passages the word is used 
rather as a metaphor than as the statement of a fact, and that 
under the symbol of the Hornet was signified some means 
whereby the people should be driven out of the land as men 
are driven when chased by angry Hornets. The reader may 
remember that the word "bee" is more than once used in a similar 
manner. This view of the case is corroborated by such passages 



614 



BIBLE ANIMALS. 



as Deut. ii. 25 : " This day will I begin to put the dread of thee, 
and the fear of thee, upon the nations that are under the whole 
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and 
be in anguish because of thee." Also Josh. ii. 9-11 : " I know 
that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is 




THE HORNET. 

7 mil send horvets before. thee."—TZxor>. xxiii. 28. 



fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint 
because of you. 

" For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the 
Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt ; and what ye did 
unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side 
Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 



THE HORNET. 615 

" And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did 
melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, 
because of you." 

The Hornet affords a most appropriate image for such a 
promise as was made to the Israelites, and was one which they 
must have thoroughly comprehended. The Hornets of Palestine 
and the neighbouring countries are far more common than our 
own Hornets in England, and they evidently infested some parts 
to such an extent that they gave their name to those spots. 
Thus the word Zoreah, which is mentioned in Josh. xv. 33, 
signifies the " place of Hornets." 

They make their nests in various ways ; some species placing 
them underground, and others disposing them as shown in the 
illustration, and merely sheltering them from the elements by a 
paper cover. Such nests as these would easily be disturbed by 
the animals which accompanied the Israelites on their journeys, 
even if the people were careful to avoid them. In such a case, 
the irritated insects rush out at the intruders ; and so great is 
the terror of their stings, that men and beasts fly promiscuously 
in every direction, each only anxious to escape from the winged 
foes. 

The recollection of such scenes would necessarily dwell in the 
memory of those who had taken part in them, and cause the 
metaphor to impress itself strongly upon them. 

It is needless to say that the passages in question might be 
literal statements of facts, and that the various nations were 
actually driven out of their countries by Hornets. Let the 
insects be brought upon the land in sufficient numbers, and 
neither man nor beast could stay in it. It is not likely, how- 
ever, that such a series of miracles, far exceeding the insect- 
plagues of Egypt, would have been worked without frequent 
references to them in the subsequent books of the Scriptures ; 
and, moreover, the quick, short, and headlong flight of the attack 
of Hornets is a very different thing from the emigration which is 
mentioned in the Scriptures, and the long journeys which such 
a proceeding involved. 

The Talmudical writers inclined to the literal view of the 
passage, and dilated on the terrible power of the Hornet, four of 
which could destroy a horse, and one kill a boy nine years of 
age, or a man, provided he were stung in the forehead. The sting 



616 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

of the Hornet is very severe indeed, exceeding in virulence that 
of the wasp, to which it is closely allied ; and it is possible that 
a boy, or even a man, might be in so feeble a state of health, or 
be naturally so sensitive to poison, that the sting of a Hornet 
would be fatal. As a rule, however, the sting of the Hornet, 
although exceedingly painful, is scarcely more injurious than that 
of a bee or wasp. The Talmudists stated that the Hornets men- 
tioned in Joshua killed the people by stinging them in the eye. 

The species of Hornet represented in the illustration is Vespa 
orientalis, the insect and nest being drawn from snecimens in 
the British Museum. 



THE ANT. 

The Ant of Scripture — Solomon's allusion to the Ant — Habit of laying up stores 
of food — A controversy respecting the Ant — The Ants of Palestine, and their 
habits — The Agricultural or Mound-making Ant — Preparing ground, sowing, 
tending, reaping, and storing the crop — Different habits of Ants — Development 
of the insect— The winged Ants — An Arab proverb. 

There are two short passages in the Old Testament, around 
which an animated controversy has long raged. They both 
occur in the Book of Proverbs. 

The first is found in chap. vi. 6 — 8 : " Go to the ant, thou 
sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise : 

" Which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 

" Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food 
in the harvest." 

The Jewish Bible renders the passage in almost exactly the 
same manner : " Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; see her ways, 
and be wise : 

" Which having no captain, bailiff, or ruler, 

" Provideth her bread in the summer, and gathereth her food 
in the harvest." 

The second passage is of a similar character : " There be four 
things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding- 
wise. 

" The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their 
meat in the summer." 



THE ANT. 617 

It has been objected to these passages that the Ant is a 
carnivorous insect, and therefore could not gather her food in 
the harvest, and that the very nature of that food would prevent 
it from being laid up in store. The objectors thought that the 
sacred writer had been deceived by appearances, and had mis- 
taken the white cocoon of the ant-pupse (popularly called ant- 
eggs among ourselves) for grains of corn which they were storing 
away for future use. 

Those who took the other side of the question answered that, 
in the first place, it was necessary to be sure of the real trans- 
lation of the word which is rendered as " ant " in the Authorized 
Version ; and that, in the second place, the Ants of a warm 
country like Palestine might have different habits from those 
which inhabit the comparatively cold and changeable climate of 
England. 

As to the first point, there is no doubt that the rendering is 
the right one, and that the word nemdlah is correctly translated 
as " ant." The Jewish Bible employs the word " ant," and does 
not add the mark of doubt. Buxtorf, in his " Hebrew Lexicon," 
translates it as " formica," and derives it from a root which 
signifies " to eat," because it eat the seeds which it conveys to its 
dwelling. The lexicographer here alludes to a belief that when 
the Ant carries a grain of corn into its home, it bites off the 
germ, so as to prevent it from sprouting. 

In Palestine Ants abound, and the species are tolerably 
numerous. Among them are found some species which do 
convey seeds into their subterranean home ; and if their stores 
should be wetted by the heavy rains which sometimes prevail 
in that country, bring thern to the outer air, as soon as the 
weather clears up, and dry them in the sun. 

The writer of the Proverbs was therefore perfectly right when 
he alluded to the vegetable stores within the nest, and only 
spoke the truth when he wrote of the Ant that it was exceeding 
wise. Any one who wishes to test the truth of his words can 
easily do so by watching the first Ants' nest which he finds, the 
species of the Ant not being of much consequence. The nests of 
the Wood-Ant are perhaps the best suited for investigation, 
partly because the insect and its habitation are comparatively 
large, and, secondly, because so much of the work is done above- 
ground. 



618 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The most wonderful Ant in the world is one which hitherto 
is only known in some parts of America. Its scientific name is 
Atta malefaciens, and it has been called by various popular 
names, such as the Mound-making Ant and the Agricultural 
Ant on account of its habits, and the Stinging Ant on account 
of the pungency of its venom. This characteristic has gained 
for it the scientific name of malefaciens, or villanous. 

The habits of this Ant were studied in Texas by Dr. Lincecum 
for the space of twelve years, and the result of his investigations 
was communicated to the Lhmgean Society by C. Darwin, Esq. 
His abstract of Dr. Lincecum's observations may be found in the 
" Journal of the Linnsean Society," vol. vi. No. 21, page 29. It 
is so extraordinary an account that it must be given in the 
narrator's own words : — 

" The following is merely an abstract of Dr. Lincecum's com- 
munication, containing only what appears to be most remarkable 
and novel in it in the way of observation. 

"The species which I have named ' Agricultural ' is a large 
brownish ant. It dwells in what may be termed paved cities, 
and, like a thrifty, diligent, provident farmer, makes suitable and 
timely arrangements for the changing seasons. It is, in short, 
endowed with skill, ingenuity, and untiring patience sufficient to 
enable it successfully to contend with the varying exigencies 
which it may have to encounter in the life-confliet. 

"When it has selected a situation for its habitation, if on 
ordinary dry ground, it bores a hole, around which it raises the 
surface three and sometimes six inches, forming a low circular 
mound having a very gentle inclination from the centre to the 
outer border, which on an average is three or four feet from the 
entrance. But if the location is chosen on low, flat, wet land 
liable to inundation, though the ground may be perfectly dry at 
the time the ant sets to work, it nevertheless elevates the 
mound, in the form of a pretty sharp cone, to the height of 
fifteen to twenty inches or more, and makes the entrance near 
the summit. Around the mound in either case the ant clears 
the ground of all obstructions, levels and smooths the surface to 
the distance of three or four feet from the gate of the city, 
giving the space the appearance of a handsome pavement, as it 
really is. 

" Within this paved area not a blade of any green thing is 



THE ANT. 619 

allowed to grow, except a single species of grain-bearing grass. 
Having planted this crop in a circle around, and two or three 
feet from, the centre of the mound, the insect tends and culti- 
vates it with constant care, cutting away all other grasses and 
weeds that may spring up amongst it and all around outside of 
the farm-circle to the extent of one or two feet more. 

" The cultivated grass grows luxuriantly, and produces a heavy 
crop of small, white, flinty seeds, which under the microscope 
very closely resemble ordinary rice. When ripe, it is carefully 
harvested, and carried by the workers, chaff and all, into the 
granary cells, where it is divested of the chaff and packed away. 
The chaff is taken out and thrown beyond the limits of the 
paved area. 

" During protracted wet weather, it sometimes happens that 
the provision stores become damp, and are liable to sprout and 
spoil. In this case, on the first fine day the ants bring out the 
damp and damaged grain, and expose it to the sun till it is dry, 
when they carry it back and pack away all the sound seeds, 
leaving those that had sprouted to waste. 

"In a peach-orchard not far from my house is a considerable 
elevation, on which is an extensive bed of rock. In the sand- 
beds overlying portions of this rock are fine cities of the Agri- 
cultural ants, evidently very ancient. My observations on their 
manners and customs have been limited to the last twelve years, 
during which time the enclosure surrounding the orchard has 
prevented the approach of cattle to the ant-farms. The cities 
which are outside of the enclosure as well as those protected in 
it are, at the proper season, invariably planted with the ant-rice. 
The crop may accordingly always be seen springing up within 
the circle about the 1st of November every year. 

" Of late years, however, since the number of farms and cattle 
lias greatly increased, and the latter are eating off the grass much 
closer than formerly, thus preventing the ripening of the seeds, I 
notice that the Agricultural ant is placing its cities along the 
turn-rows in the fields, walks in gardens, inside about the gates, 
&c, where they can cultivate their farms without molestation 
from the cattle. 

" There can be no doubt of the fact, that the particular species 
of grain-bearing grass mentioned above is intentionally planted. 
In farmer-like manner the ground upon which it stands is care- 



620 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

fully divested of all other grasses and weeds during the time it 
is growing. When it is ripe the grain is taken care of, the dry- 
stubble cut away and carried off, the paved area being left un- 
encumbered until the ensuing autumn, when the same ' ant- 
rice ' reappears within the same circle, and receives the same 
agricultural attention as was bestowed upon the previous crop : 
and so on year after year, as I know to be the case, in all situa- 
tions where the ants' settlements are protected from gramini- 
vorous animals." 

In a second letter, Dr. Lincecum, in reply to an inquiry from 
Mr. Darwin, whether he supposed that the Ants plant seeds for 
the ensuing crop, says, "I have not the slightest doubt of it. 
And my conclusions have not been arrived at from hasty or 
careless observation, nor from seeing the ants do something that 
looked a little like it, and then guessing at the results. I have 
at all seasons watched the same ant-cities during the last twelve 
years, and I know that what I stated in my former letter is 
true. I visited the same cities yesterday, and found the crop of 
ant-rice growing finely, and exhibiting also the signs of high 
cultivation, and not a blade of any other kind of grass or weed 
was to be seen within twelve inches of the circular row of ant- 
rice." 

The economical habits of this wonderful insect far surpass 
anything that Solomon has written of the Ant, and it is not too 
much to say that if any of the Scriptural writers had ventured 
to speak of an Ant that not only laid up stores of grain, but 
actually prepared the soil for the crop, planted the seed, kept the 
ground free from weeds, and finally reaped the harvest, the 
statement would have been utterly disbelieved, and the credi- 
bility not only of that particular writer but of the rest of 
Scripture severely endangered. We all know that Solomon's 
statement concerning the Ant has afforded one of the stock 
arguments against the truth of Scripture ; and here we have his 
statements not only corroborated to the very letter by those who 
have visited Palestine for the express purpose of investigating its 
zoology, but far surpassed by the observations of a scientific man 
who had watched the insects for a series of years. One of the 
Ants of Palestine, shown on page 6*21, belongs to the same genus 
as the Agricultural Ant. 



THE ANT. 



621 



As may be inferred from the above description, the habits of 
Ants vary greatly according to their species and the climate in 
which they live. All, however, are wonderful creatures; and 
whether we look at their varied architecture, their mode of 
procuring food, the system of slave-catching adopted by some, 




ant of Palestine (At.ta barbara). 
1 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise." — Pro v. vi. 6. 



ihe " milking " of aphides practised by others, their astonishing 
mode of communicating thought to each other, and their perfect 
sy.stem of discipline, we feel how true were the words of the 
royal naturalist, that the Ants are "little upon earth, but are 
exceeding wise." 

There is one point of their economy in which all known 



622 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

species agree. Only those whicli are destined to become per- 
fectly developed males and females attain the winged state. 
Before they assume the transitional or pupal condition, each spins 
around itself a slight but tough silken cocoon, in which it lies 
secure during the time which is consumed in developing its full 
perfection of form. 

When it is ready to emerge, the labourer Ants aid in freeing it 
from the cocoon, and in a short time it is ready to fly. Millions 
of these winged ants rise into the air, seeking their mates, and, 
as they are not strong on the wing, and are liable to be tossed 
about by every gust of wind, vast numbers of them perish. 
Whole armies of them fall into the water and are drowned ur 
devoured by fish, while the insectivorous birds hold great fes- 
tival on so abundant a supply of food. As soon as they are 
mated they bend their wings forward, snap them off, and pass 
the rest of their lives on the ground. 

In consequence of the destruction that takes place among the 
winged Ants, the Arabs have a pruverb which is applied to 
those who are over-ambitious : " If God purposes the destruction 
of an ant, He permits wings to grow upon her." 



HOMOPTEEA. 
THE CRIMSON WORM. 

The scarlet or crimson of Scripture — Signification of the word TolMth— The 
Coccus or Cochineal of Palestine compared with that of Mexico - Difference 
between the sexes— Mode of preparing the insect — The Arabic word Kermes. 

We now come to another order of insects. 

Just as the purple dye was obtained from a mollusc, the 
scarcely less valuable crimson or scarlet was obtained from an 
insect. The Hebrew word tolddth is translated in the Autho- 
rized Version either as "crimson" or "scarlet," but its full 
signification is the Crimson-worm. This is an insect scienti- 
fically named Coccus ilicis on account of its food It is closely 
allied to the well-known cochineal of Mexico, which gives a 
more brilliant dye, and has at the present day nearly superseded 



THE CRIMSON WORM. 



623 



the native insect. It is, however, still employed as a dye in 
some parts of the country. 

As its name imports, it feeds on the holm oak (Quercus cocci- 
fera), a tree which is very plentiful in Palestine, and attains a 
large size. 

Like the cochineal insect of Mexico, the female is very much 
larger than her mate, and it is only from her that the dye is pro- 
ceed. At the proper season of year the females are gathered 
off the trees and carefully dried, the mode of drying having 
some effect upon the quality of the dye. During the process of 




THE CRIMSON WORM. 

Though your sins be as red as crimson, they shall be white as snow." — Isa. i. 18. 



drying the insect alters greatly, both in colour and size, shrinking 
to less than half its original dimensions, and assuming a greyisli 
brown hue instead of a deep red. When placed in water it soon 
gives out its colouring matter, and communicates to the water 
the rich colour v/ith which we are familiar under the name of 
carmine, or crimson. This latter name, by the way, is only a 
corruption of the Arabic kermes, which is the name of the 
insect. 



624 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The reader will remember that this was one of the three 
sacred colours — scarlet, purple, and blue — used in the vestments 
of the priests and the hangings of the tabernacle, the white not 
taking rank as a colour. 

The Coccus belongs to the Homoptera in common with the 
cicadas, the lantern flies, the hoppers, and the aphides. 

On page 623 the large females are shown on the prickly pear, 
and near them are the tiny males, some flying and some on the 
leaves. 



LEPIDOPTERA. 



THE CLOTHES MOTH. 

The Moth of Scripture evidently the Clothes Moth — The Sas and the 'Ash- 
Similitude between the Hebrew sds and the Greek sis— Moths and garments — 
Accumulation of clothes in the East — Various uses of the hoarded robes — The 
Moths, the rust, and the thief. 

Only one Lepidopterous insect is mentioned by name, in the 
Scriptures. This is the Moth, by which we must always under- 
stand some species of Clothes Moth — in fact, one of the Ti; % ,eida3, 
which are as plentiful and destructive in Palestine as in this 
country. 

Two words are used in the Old Testament to express the 
Moth, one of which, sds, only occurs once, and then in con- 
nexion with the other word 'ash. The resemblance of the 
Hebrew sds and the Greek ses is to be noted, both of them 
denominating the same insect. See Is. li. 8 : " For the moth 
('ash) shall eat them up like garment, and the worm (sds) shall 
eat them like wool. " Buxtorf translates sds as tinea, blatta. 

Several references are made to the Moth in the Scriptures, 
and nearly all have reference to its destructive habits. The 
solitary exceptions occur in the Book of Job, " Behold, He put 
no trust in His servants ; and His angels He charged with folly : 
how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose 



THE CLOTHES MOTH. 625 

foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?" 
(Ch. iv. 18, 19.) A similar allusion to the Moth is made in the 
same book : " He buildeth his house as a moth, and is a booth 
that the keeper maketh " (xxvii. 18). 

The Moth is mentioned in one of the penitential passages of 
the Psalms : " When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for 
iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth : 
surely every man is vanity" (Ps. xxxix. 11). 

The prophets also make use of the same image. "Behold, 
the Lord God will help me ; who is he that shall condemn me ? 
lo, they all shall wax old as a garment ; the moth shall eat 
them" (Isa. 1. 9). The image is repeated in the next chapter 
(ver. 8), in which the 'Ash and the Sas are both mentioned. Hosea 
employs the word as a metaphor expressive of gradual destruc- 
tion : " Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the 
house of Judah as rottenness" (v. 12). 

In the Xew Testament reference is made several times to the 
Moth. " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where 
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through 
and steal " (Matt. vi. 19). St. James, in a kind of commentary on 
this passage, writes as follows : " Go to now, ye rich men, weep 
and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 

" Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth- 
eaten. 

11 Your gold and silver is cankered ; and the rust of them shall 
be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. 
Ye have heaped treasures together for the last days." (v. 1-3.) 

Even to ourselves these passages are significant enough, but 
to the Jews and the inhabitants of Palestine they possessed a 
force which we can hardly realize in this country. In the East 
large stores of clothing are kept by the wealthy, not only for 
their own use, but as presents to others. At a marriage feast, 
for example, the host presents each of the guests with a wedding 
garment. Clothes are a4so given as marks of favour, and a present 
of "changes of raiment," i.e. suits of clothing, is one of the most 
common gifts. As at the present day, there was anciently no 
greater mark of favour than for the giver to present the very 
robe which he was wearing, and when that robe happened to be 
an official one, the gift included the rank which it symbolized. 
Thus Joseph was invested with royal robes, as well as with the 
41 



626 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

royal ring (Gen. xli. 42). Mordecai was clothed in the king's 
robes : " Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth 
to wear, and the horse the king rideth upon, and the crown 
royal which is set upon his head. 

" And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of 
one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the 
man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him 
on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before 
him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth 
to honour." (Esther vi. 8, 9.) 

The loose clothing of the East requires no fitting, as is the 
case with the tight garments of the West ; any garment fits 
any man : so that the powerful and wealthy could lay up great 
stores of clothing, knowing that they would fit any person to 
whom they were given. An allusion to this practice of keeping 
great stores of clothing is made in Job xxvii. 26 : " Though he 
heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay ; 

" He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the 
innocent shall divide the silver." 

So large was the supply of clothing in a wealthy man's house, 
that special chambers were set apart for it, and a special officer, 
called the " keeper of the garments " (2 Chron. xxxiv. 22), was 
appointed to take charge of them. 

Thus, w T hen a man was said to have clothing, the expression 
was a synonym for wealth and power. See Isa. iii. 6 : " When a 
man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, 
saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler." 

The reader will now see how forcible was the image of the 
Moth and the garments, that is used so freely in the Scriptures. 
The Moth would not meddle with garments actually in use, so 
that a poor man would not be troubled with it. Only those 
who were rich enough to keep stores of clothing in their houses 
need fear the Moth, which w T ould be as destructive to that 
portion of their wealth represented by their clothes as the " rust," 
— i. e. the Grain Moth (Tinea granella) — which consumed their 
stores, or the thief who came by night and stole their gold 
and silver. 



THE SILKWOKM MOTH. 

Various passages wherein Silk is mentioned — The virtuous woman and her 
household — Probability that the Hebrews were acquainted with Silk — Present 
cultivation of the Silkworm — The Silk-farms of the Lebanon — Signification of 
the word Meshi — Silkworms and thunder — Luis of Grenada's sermon — The 
Hebrew word Gdzam, and its signification — The Palmer-worm of Scripture. 

In the Authorized Version there are several passages wherein silk 
is mentioned, but it is rather doubtful whether the translation be 
correct or not, except in one passage of the Eevelation : " And 
the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her ; for 
no man buyeth their merchandise any more : 

"The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, 
and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk." (xviii. 
11, 12.) 

In Prov. xxxi. 22 Solomon writes of the virtuous woman 
" that she maketh herself coverings of tapestry ; her clothing is 
silk and purple." The word which is here given as " silk " is 
translated in the Jewish Bible as " fine linen " 

In the other two passages, however, in which the word occurs it 
is rendered as " silk :" "I clothed thee also with broidered work, 
and shod thee with badger's skin, and I girded thee about with 
fine linen, and I covered thee with silk " (Ezek. xvi. 10). See 
also verse 13 of the same chapter : " Thus wast thou decked with 
gold and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and broidered 
work." 

That the Hebrews were acquainted with silk from very early 
times is nearly certain, but it is probable that until compara- 
tively late years they only knew the manufactured material, and 
were ignorant of the source whence it was derived. As to the 
date at which silk was introduced into Palestine, nothing certain 
is known ; but it is most likely that Solomon's fleets brought 
silk from India, together with the other valuables which are 
mentioned in the history of that monarch. 



628 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

At the present day silk is largely cultivated, and the silk- 
farmers of the Lebanon are noted for the abundance of the 
crop which is annually produced. The greatest care is taken 
in rearing the worms. An excellent account of these farms 
is given by Mr. G-. W. Chasseaud in his "Druses of the 
Lebanon : " — 

" Proceeding onward, and protected from the fierce heat of 
the snn's rays by the pleasant shade of mountain pines, we were 
continually encountering horseloads of cocoons, the fruit of the 
industry of the Druse silk-rearer. The whole process, from 
hatching the silkworms' eggs till the moment that the worm 
becomes a cocoon, is one series of anxiety and labour to the 
peasant. The worms are so delicate that the smallest change of 
temperature exposes them to destruction, and the peasant can 
never confidently count upon reaping a harvest until the cocoon 
is fairly set." 

After a long and interesting description of the multiplied and 
ceaseless labours of the silk-grower in providing food for the 
armies of caterpillars and sheltering them from the elements, 
the writer proceeds as follows : — 

" The peasant is unwilling to permit of our remaining and 
watching operations. Traditional superstition has inculcated 
in him a dread of the evil eye. If we stop and admire the 
wisdom displayed by the worm, it will, in his opinion, be pro- 
ductive of evil results ; either the cocoon will be badly formed, 
or the silk will be worthless. So, first clearing the place of all 
intruders, he puts a huge padlock on the door, and, locking the 
khlook (room in which the silkworms are kept), deposits the key 
in his zinnar, or waistband. 

" Next week he will come and take out the cocoons, and, 
separating them from the briars, choose out a sufficiency for 
breeding purposes, and all the rest are handed over to the 
women of his family. These first of all disentangle the cocoon 
from the rich and fibrous web with which it is enveloped, and 
which constitutes an article of trade by itself. The cocoons are 
then either reeled off by the peasant himself or else sold to 
some of the silk factories of the neighbourhood, where they are 
immediately reeled off, or are suffocated iii an oven, and after- 
wards, being well aired and dried, piled up in the magazines of 
the factory. 



THE SILKWORM MOTH. 629 

" Such is a brief account or history of these cocoons, of which 
we were continually encountering horseload after horseload. 

" As you will perceive, unless suffering from a severe cold in 
the head, the odour arising from these cocoons is not the most 
agreeable ; but this arises partly from the neglect and want of 
care of the peasants themselves, who, reeling oft' basketful after 
basketful of cocoons, suffer the dead insects within to be thrown 
about and accumulate round the house, where they putrefy and 
emit noxious vapours." 

The Hebrew word meshi, which is the one that occurs in 
Ezek. xvi., is derived from a root which signifies " to draw out," 
probably in allusion to the delicacy of the fibre. 

Although our limits will not permit the cultivation of the 
Silkworm to be described more fully, it may here be added that 
all silk-growers are full of superstition regarding the welfare of 
the caterpillars, and imagine that they are so sensitive that they 
will die of fear. The noise of a thunderclap is, in their estima- 
tion, fatal to Silkworms ; and the breeders were therefore accus- 
tomed to beat drums within the hearing of the Silkworms, 
increasing the loudness of the sound, and imitating as nearly 
as possible the crash and roll of thunder, so that the caterpillars 
might be familiar with the sound if the thunderstorm should 
happen to break near them. 

A quaint use of this superstition is made by Luis of Grenada 
in one of his discourses : — 



Dominica IV. post Pent, Concio 1. 

" Sunt rursus alii, quorum pectora sic generis humani hostis 
obsedit, ut nullius divinae vocis fulminibus perterreantur, vel 
parum animo commoveantur. 

" Qua, autern ratione eorundem aures obstruat, proposito hoc 
exemplo indicabo. 

" Bombyces, hoc est vermes illi qui serica fila nectunt, ita 
tonitruum sonitu gravantur, ut interdum moriantur. Quo fit, ut 
qui eos nutriunt tympana frequenter pulsent, ut sonitui molliori 
assueti a graviori tonitrui sono non lsedantur. Tales mihi multi 
sacrarum concionum auditores hac setate esse videntur, qui 
quotidianis concionibus audiendis sine ullo animi motu assueti, 
si quis concionator, a Deo actus, gravius aliquid et formidibilius 



630 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

internet, non idem magis animo permoveantur ; utpote qui negli- 
genter audiendi consuetudine pene insensibiles ad verbi Dei 
tonitrua affecti sint." 



Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Sermon 1. 

" Again, others there are of whose breasts the enemy of man- 
kind hath taken such possession, that they be terrified by the 
thunderbolts of no Divine voice, or are in mind only a little 
disturbed thereby. 

" Now after what sort he stoppeth the ears of these same 
men I will, by this example, propound and set forth. 

" The Bombyxes — that is to say, those worms which do spin 
the silk threads — are by peals of thunder so troubled that some- 
times they die. Wherefore it comes to pass that the keepers 
of them do ofttimes beat drums, to the end that, being used to 
the softer noise, they may take no hurt from that sound of the 
thunder which is heavier. Of such a sort do seem to me to be 
nowadays many hearers of sacred discourses. For inasmuch 
as they be used to the hearing of common discourses, by which 
their minds are nothing moved, if a preacher, urged of God, do 
sound forth something in any wise solemn and dreadful, they are 
not, therefore, any the more moved in mind, seeing that by their 
custom of careless hearing they have grown well-nigh hardened 
to the thunders of God's Word." 

About the correct reading of the Hebrew word gdzam, which 
is translated in the Authorized Version " palmer-worm," there 
has always been some difficulty. It only occurs in three pas- 
sages of Scripture, and in each case reference is made to its 
destructive powers. 

The first is in Joel i. 4 : " That which the palmer- worm hath 
left, hath the locust eaten." 

The second is in chap. ii. 25 of the same book : " I will restore 
to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, 
and the caterpillar, and the palmer- worm, my great army which 
I sent among you." 

The third is in Amos iv. 9 : " I have smitten you with blasting 
and mildew : when your gardens, and your vineyards, and 
your fig-trees, and your olive-trees increased, the palmer-worm 



THE SILKWORM MOTH. 



631 



devoured them : yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the 
Lord." 

The Jewish Bible retains the reading of palmer-worm, but 
affixes the mark of doubt, as it does to the canker-worm. Some 




BUTTERFLJKS OF PALESTINE. 

Syrian Grayling (Hipprrchia Persephone). Syrian Orange-tip (Anthoch&ris Glauct>) 

Syrian Swallow-tail (Papilio virgatus). 
'* That which the palmer-warm hath left hath the locust eaten." — Joel i. 4. 



Hebraists have thought that the word gdzam is one of the names 
to designate the locust, either some distinct species, or the same 
species in its undeveloped condition. Others have thought that, 
as the Jews were very loose in their nomenclature, they would 
not have made so great an exception in favour of an insect as to 
apply two different names to it. 



632 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

Buxtorf derives the word from a root signifying " to shave," or 
11 to shear," in allusion to the havoc which the gdzam makes among 
the vegetation. The reader will see that it is impossible to 
decide with any certainty upon the precise species of insect 
signified by the word gdzam ; but there can be no harm in fol- 
lowing the translation of the Septuagint and Vulgate, both of 
which render it as " caterpillar." Assuming, therefore, that it 
is a caterpillar of some kind, I have inserted figures of some 
butterflies found in Palestine, together with the caterpillar and 
chrysalis of one of them, namely the Papilio. 



DIPTEEA. 
FLIES. 



Flies of Scripture— Dead Flies and the apothecary's ointment — Gadflies and 
their attacks — Annoyance caused by the House-fly — Flies and ophthalmia — 
Sign or Pierotti's account of the Flies — The sovereign remedy against Flies — 
Causes of their prevalence. 

Next we come to the Dipterous or two-winged insects, which 
are very sparingly mentioned in the Scriptures, and only one 
species is definitely named. 

There are two Hebrew words which are translated as "fly." 
One is zebub. so familiar in the compound word Baal-zebub — i.e. 
" Lord of Flies." This word only occurs in two passages, one 
being the well-known proverb, " Dead flies cause the ointment 
of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour " (Eccles. x. 1). 

This passage requires a little explanation. By the word 
" apothecary " we must not understand a medical man, nor by 
the word " ointment " the mollifying substance used as an appli- 
cation for wounds. The ointment of Scripture signifies the 
various perfumed unguents used as scents and cosmetics for the 
living, as part of the preparation of the dead for the grave, and 
as an essential accessory to Jewish ritual. 

These ointments were most carefully made, and the person 
who prepared and sold them was called the apothecary. If, 
therefore, the unguents were carelessly stored, and the Flies 



FLIES. 633 

permitted to enter, the perfume would be destroyed by the 
odour of their dead bodies. 

The second passage is Isa. vii. 18 : " The Lord shall hiss for 
the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt." No 
particular species of fly is here indicated ; but it is evident that 
some peculiarly irritating and troublesome, not to say dangerous, 
insect is signified. 

Many species of gadfly would produce that effect, and inflict 
direful torments on those whom they assail. Even in England 
the gadflies are more than troublesome to human beings. In the 
New Forest I have been fairly driven back by the attack of the 
gadflies, which wounded me through a thick woollen coat, while 
they attacked the uncovered portions of the skin so fiercely that, 
before reaching shelter, my neck was bathed in blood. 

Another word is arob, which is applied to the flies which were 
brought upon Egypt in the great plague. It is probable that 
some different species is here signified, but there is no certainty 
in the matter. Any species, however, would be a sufficient 
plague if they exceeded the usual number which infest Egypt, 
and which at first make the life of a foreigner a burden to him. 
They swarm in such myriads, that he eats flies, drinks flies, and 
breathes flies. 

Not the least part of the nuisance is, that they cluster in the 
eyes of those who are affected with the prevalent ophthrimia, 
which is so fertile a cause of blindness, and so convey the 
infection with them. A stranger is always struck with the 
appearance of the children, who" have quantities of these pests 
upon and about their eyes, and yet seem perfectly unaffected by 
a visitation which would wellnigh drive a European mad. 

Signor Pierotti writes feelingly on the subject : — 

" These insects sometimes cause no slight suffering in Pales- 
tine, as I can vouch from my own experience. However large or 
however small they may be, a rabid and restless foe, they attack 
alike, and make themselves insufferable in a thousand ways, in 
every season and place, in the house and in the field, by day and 
by night. 

" Frequently in 1857 and 1860, while I was encamped near 
the tents of the Bedawtn, in the neighbourhood of the Jordan, 
and to the south of Hebron, flies were brought in such numbers 
by the east wind that all, beasts and men, were in danger of 



634 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

being choke- > by them, as they crept into our ears, noses, and 
mouths, and all over our bodies. My servant and I were the 
first to fly from the pest, as we were spotted all over like lepers 
with the eruption caused by their bites : the Bedawin them- 
selves were not slow to follow our example. 

" I am not the only person who has experienced this nuisance, 
for Eugene Eoger, who travelled in Palestine during the seven- 
teenth century, informs us that during his stay at Nazareth 
a swarm of small black flies, called bargash, invaded the plain of 
Esdraelon, where a tribe of Bedawin, to the number of six hundred 
tents, were encamped, who suffered greatly from them. 

" The flies, therefore, still infest Palestine as they did of old, 
except that they are not now so numerous as to compel the 
chiefs of the villages or tribes (answering to the kings of the 
Pentateuch and Joshua) to evacuate the country before them. 

' c The Philistines had a special deity whom they invoked 
against these pests, Baalzebub, the God of Plies, whose temple 
was at Ekron. The reason of this is evident at the present day, 
for the ancient country of the Philistines is infested with insect 
plagues, as I experienced together with his Excellency Surraya 
Pasha in the summer of 1859. 

" As, however, we had no faith in Baalzebub, we were obliged 
to arm ourselves with fly-traps and stoical patience. Many 
travellers bri -g with them a perfect druggist's shop from Europe 
as a protection against these nuisances, and leave behind them 
this only efficacious remedy, patience. This I strongly recom- 
mend ; it is very portable, very cheap, and equally useful in all 
climates. 

"It is especially valuable in the case of the insects, as they 
are found everywhere in greater or less numbers ; especially in 
the dwellings, where they are nourished by the carrion that lies 
about, the heaps of rubbish, the filth of the streets, the leakage 
of cesspools and sewers, the dirt in the houses, the filthy clothing 
worn by the people, and the kind of food they eat. Though the 
country of Baalzebub is deserted and enslaved, the flies are still 
abundant and free, self-invited guests at the table, unasked 
assistants in the kitchen, tasting everything, immolating them- 
selves in their gastronomic ardour, and forming an undesired 
seasoning in every dish." 






GNATS. 

The Gnat of Scripture — Straining out the Gnat and swallowing the camel, a 
typographical error — Probable identity of the Gnat and the mosquito. 

It has already been stated that only one species of fly is men- 
tioned by name in the Scriptures. This is the Gnat, the name 
of which occurs in the familiar passage, " Ye blind guides, which 
strain at a gnat and swallow a camel " (Matt, xxiii. 24). 




NOXIOUS FLIES OF PALESTINE. 

Mosquito (Culex). Camel Fly (Tabanus Marocanus). 

" He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them." — Psa. xxviii. 45. 



I may again mention here that the words " strain at " oughl 
to have been printed " strain out," the substitution of one for 
the other being only a typographical error. The allusion is 
made to a custom which is explained by reference to the preced- 



636 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

ing article on the fly. In order to avoid taking flies and other 
insects into the mouth while drinking, a piece of thin linen stuff 
was placed over the cup, so that if any insects, as was usually 
the case, had got into the liquid, they would be " strained out " 
by the linen. 

Whether or not any particular species of insect was signified 
by the word " gnat " is very doubtful, and in all probability the 
word is only used to express the contrast between the smallest 
known insects and the largest known beasts. Gnats, especially 
those species which are popularly known by the word " mosquito," 
are very plentiful in many parts of Palestine, especially those 
which are near water, and are as annoying there as in other 
lands which they inhabit. 



APTERA AND APANIPTEKA. 



THE LOUSE. 

Insect parasites — The plague of Lice— Its effect on the magicians or priests — The 
Hebrew word Chinnvtn— Probability that it may be represented by "tick " — 
Habits of the ticks, their dwellings in dust, and their effects on man and 
beast. 

We close the history of insects mentioned in Scripture with two 
parasites of a singularly disagreeable character. 

With respect to the former of them, we find it mentioned in 
the account of the great plagues of Egypt. After the two plagues 
of the waters and the frogs, both of which were imitated by the 
magicians, i.e. the priests, a third was brought upon Egypt, which 
affected the magicians even more than the people, for a reason 
which we shall presently see : — 

" And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out 
thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice, 
throughout all the land of Egypt. 

" And they did so ; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his 
rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man 



THE LOUSE. 637 

and in beast ; all the dust of the land became lice throughout 
all the land of Egypt. 

" And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring 
forth lice, but they could not : so there were lice upon man and 
upon beast." 

Now it is hardly possible to conceive a calamity which would 
have told with greater effect upon the magicians, by whose 
advice Pharoah had resisted the requests of Moses and Aaron. 

Living in a land where all, from the highest to the lowest, 
were infested with parasites, the priests were so much in advance 
of the laity that they were held polluted if they harboured one 
single noxious insect upon their persons, or in their clothing. 
The clothing, being linen, could be kept clean by frequent 
washing, while the possibility of the body being infested by 
parasites was prevented by the custom of shaving the whole of 
the body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, at 
least once in every three days. 

It may easily be imagined, therefore, how terrible this visita- 
tion must have been to such men. As swine to the Pharisee, as 
the flesh of cattle to the Brahmin, so was the touch of a parasite 
to the Egyptian priest. He was degraded in his own estimation 
and in that of his fellows. He could perform no sacred offices : 
so that, in fact, all the idolatrous worship of Egypt ceased until 
this particular plague had been withdrawn. 

We now come to a consideration of the insect which is signi- 
fied by the Hebrew word chinnim. Sir Samuel Baker is of 
opinion that the word ought to have been translated as " ticks," 
and for the following reasons : — 

After quoting the passage which relates to the stretching of 
Aaron's rod over the dust, and the consequence of that action, 
he proceeds as follows : " Now the louse that infests the human 
body and hair has no connexion whatever with dust, and, if 
subjected to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat of the burning 
sand, it would shrivel and die. But a tick is an inhabitant of 
the dust, a. dry horny insect, without any apparent moisture in 
its composition. It lives in hot sand and dust, where it cannot 
possibly obtain nourishment until some wretched animal should 
lie down upon the spot, and become covered with these horrible 
vermin. 

" I have frequently seen dry desert places so infested with 



638 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

ticks that the ground was perfectly alive with them, and it 
would have been impossible to have rested upon the earth. In 
such spots, the passage in Exodus has frequently seemed to me 
as bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest- 
enemy to man and beast. It is well known that from the size 
of a grain of sand, in their natural state, they will distend to the 
size of a hazel nut after having preyed for some days on the 
body of an animal." (" Nile Tributaries," p. 122.) 

Granting that this suggestion be the correct one, as it cer- 
tainly is the most consistent both with actual facts and with the 
words of Holy Writ, the plague would lose none of its intensity, 
but would, if anything, be more horrible. Only those who have 
suffered from them can appreciate the miseries caused by the 
attack of these ticks, which cling so tightly that they can 
scarcely be removed without being torn in pieces, and without 
leaving some portion of their head beneath the skin of their 
victim. Man and beast suffer equally from them, as is implied 
in the words of Scripture, and, unless they are very cautiously 
removed, painful and obstinate is the result of their bites. 



THE FLEA 



Prevalence of the Flea in the East, and the annoyance caused by them to tra- 
vellers — Fleas of the Lebanon — The Bey's bedfellows — The Pasha at the bath 
— Use of the word in Scripture. 



This active little pest absolutely swarms in the East. The 
inhabitants are so used to the Fleas that either the insects do not 
touch them, or by long custom they become so inured to their 
attack that the bites are not felt. 

But every traveller in Eastern lands has a tale to tell about 
the Fleas, which seem to be accepted as one of the institutions 
of the country, and to be contemplated with perfect equanimity. 
Miss Rogers, for example, in her " Domestic Life in Palestine," 
mentions how she was obliged to stand upon a box in order 



THE FLEA. 639 

to be out of the reach of a large company of Fleas that were 
hopping about on the floor ! 

Mr. Urquhart, experienced Orientalist as he was, found on one 
occasion that the Fleas were too strong for him. He had for- 
gotten his curtain, and was invaded by armies of Fleas, that 
marched steadily up the bed and took possession of their prey. 
The people were quite amused at his complaints, and said that 
their Bey could not sleep without a couple of hundred of them 
in his bosom. Mr. Urquhart suggests that these little creatures 
act as a wholesome irritant to the skin, and says that the last 
two mouthfuls of every meal are for the benefit of the Fleas. 

In order to show the perfect indifference with which the pre- 
sence of these little pests is regarded, I quote a passage from 
Mr. Farley's " Druses of the Lebanon." He was in a Turkish 
bath, and was much amused at a scene which presented itself. 

" A man, whose skin resembled old discoloured vellum, was 
occupying himself with the somewhat undignified pursuit of 
pursuing with great eagerness something that, from the move- 
ment of his hands, seemed continually to elude him, jumping 
about and taking refuge in the creases and folds of his shirt, that 
was spread out over his lap as he sat cross-legged on his bedstead 
like a tailor on his board. This oddity was no less a dignitary 
than a Pasha." 

This extract also serves to illustrate the two passages in Scrip- 
ture wherein the word " flea " is mentioned, and in both of 
which it is used as a metaphor to express weakness on the one 
side and power on the other. 

The first occurs in 1 Sam. xxiv. 14 : -" After whom is the 
king of Israel come out ? After whom dost thou pursue ? After 
a dead dog, after a flea ? " The second is in chap. xxvi. of the 
same book, ver. 20 : " Now therefore .... the king of Israel 
is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in 
the mountains." The reader will see how completely the anec- 
dote of the Pasha in the bath illustrates this passage. 



640 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



AEACHNIDA. 
THE SCOKPIOK 

The Scorpions of Palestine— Signification of the word Akrabbim — Habits of the 
Scorpion — Dangers of mud walls — Venom of the Scorpion — Scorpions at sea — 
The Scorpion whip, and its use — The Scorpion Pass. 

The Arachnid a are represented in Scripture by the Scorpion 
and Spicier. 

Scorpions are exceedingly common in Palestine, and to a novice 
are a constant source of terror until he learns to be accustomed 
to them. The appearance of the Scorpion is too well known to 
need description, every one being aware that it is in reality 
a kind of spider that has the venom claw at the end of its body, 
and not in its jaw. As to the rendering of the word akrabbim 
as " Scorpions," there has never been any doubt. 

These unpleasant creatures always manage to insinuate them- 
selves in some crevice, and an experienced traveller is cautious 
where the Scorpions are plentiful, and will never seat himself in 
the country until he has ascertained that no Scorpions are 
beneath the stones on or near which he is sitting. Holes in 
walls are favourite places of refuge for the Scorpion, and are very 
plentiful, the mud walls always tumbling down in parts, and 
affording homes for Scorpions, spiders, snakes, and other visitors. 

The venom of the Scorpion varies much in potency according 
to the species and size of the creature, some of the larger Scor- 
pions being able to render a man ill for a considerable time, and 
even to kill him if he should be a sensitive subject. So much 
feared were the Scorpions that one of the chief privileges of the 
Apostles and their immediate followers was their immunity from 
the stings of Scorpions and' the bite of venomous serpents. 

It is said, however, that after a person has been stung once by 
a Scorpion, he suffers comparatively little the second time, and 
that if he be stung three or four times, the only pain that he 



SCORPION. 



641 



suffers arises from the puncture. Sailors also say that after 
a week at sea the poisou of the Scorpion loses its power, 
and that they care nothing for the Scorpions which are sure 
to come on board inside the bundles of firewood. 




THE SOOUPJON. 

1 And they luvd tails like unto scorpi/ms: and then wcrs stivers in their taite." — Hr.\. ix. 



We will now take a few of the Scriptural passages which 
allude to the Scorpion. As may be expected, most of them refer 
to the poisonous quality of its sting, though one or two allude 
to its habit of dwelling in desert places. See, for example, 
Deut. viii. 15, which forms part of the address that Moses 
delivered to the Israelites : " Lest .... thou forget the Lord 
thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, 
from the house of bondage ; 
42 



642 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

"Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, 
wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where 
there was no water." 

A similar image of desolation is found in Ezek. ii. 6 : " And 
thou, son of man. be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their 
words, though briars and thorns be with thee, and thou dost 
dwell among scorpions." 

Those passages which mention the venom of the Scorpion are 
numerous, though most, if not all, of them occur in the New 
Testament. See Eev. ix. 5 : " And to them it was given that 
they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five 
months, and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, 
when he striketh a man." Also ver. 10 of the same chapter : 
" And they had tails like unto scorpions : and there were 
stings in their tails : and their power was to hurt men five 
months." 

The venom of the Scorpion is indirectly mentioned in other 
passages. There is, for example, the well-known saying of our 
Lord, " If a son shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion ? " 
(Luke xi. 12.) And in the preceding chapter of the same Evan- 
gelist Scorpions are classed with serpents in their power of 
injury : " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents 
and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy ; and nothing 
shall by any means hurt you." 

Thebe is another reference to the Scorpion in the Old Testa- 
ment, which requires an explanation. It forms part of the rash 
counsel given to Eehoboam by his friends : " My father made 
your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke ; my father also 
chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." 

The general tenure of this passage is evident enough, namely, 
that he intended to be far more severe than his father had 
been. But his words assume a new force when we remember 
that there was a kind of whip called a Scorpion. This terrible 
instrument was made for the express purpose of punishing 
slaves, so that the mere mention of it was an insult. It consisted 
of several thongs, each of which was loaded with knobs of metal, 
and tipped with a metal hook, so that it resembled the jointed 
and hooked tail of the Scorpion. This dreadful instrument of 
borture could kill a man by a few blows, and it was even used 



THE SPIDER. 643 

in combats in the amphitheatre, a gladiator armed with a Scor- 
pion being matched against one armed with a spear. 

The prevalence of the Scorpion in Palestine and its neighbour- 
hood may be inferred from the fact that a wady or pass between 
the south end of the Dead Sea and Zion was named after it. 
The southern boundary of Judah is said to be at Maaleh 
Akrabbim (Josh. xv. 3). Now the literal translation of these 
words is " The Ascent of Scorpions/' or The Scorpion Pass. 



THE SPIDER. 

Signification of the word Semamith— Various interpretations of a Scnptura. 
passage — Talmudical opinions respecting the creature— The 'Akkabish and its 
web — Spiders of Palestine. 

Although the word " spider " is mentioned three times in the 
Authorized Version of the Bible, one of them must be excluded, 
namely Prov. xxx. 28 : " The spider taketh hold with her 
hands, and is in kings' palaces." There is much doubt whether 
the word semamith, which is here translated a " spider," does not 
rather allude to the Gecko, a lizard which has already been 
described. Moreover, the passage is rendered very differently in 
the Jewish Bible : " A spider thou mayest catch with the hands, 
and is in kings' palaces." 

Buxtorf mentions some curious Talmudical opinions re- 
garding the Semam. For example, there is a kind of proverb — 
" Dreaded as a Semam by a scorpion," founded on the belief that 
the Semam, whatever it might be, crept into the ears of the 
scorpion. Another proverb is, ' : A Semam against a scorpion," 
the idea being that if a Semam was crushed on the wound made 
by a scorpion, it would destroy the effect of the poison. 

He further mentions that the word has been translated as 
araneus or aranea, i.e. Spider, as simia, i.e. an ape, as cala- 
motes, which signifies a kind of fish, or as kalabotes and askala- 
botes, which is a kind of lizard. The Septuagint employs this 
rendering, to which Buxtorf himself leans. 



644 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

The same word 'akkabish occurs twice, and certainly does 
signify some kind of Spider. The Prophet Isaiah writes of 
the wicked that they "weave the spider's web" (lix. 5), and 
there is a similar image in Job viii. 14 : " So are the paths of all 
that forget God ; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish. Whose 
hope shall be cut off, and whose hope shall be a spider's web " 
(or house). In both instances reference is made to the fragility 
of the Spider's web as a metaphor to express the futility of evil 
devices. 

The reader will see that in neither of these passages is there 
anything that indicates the species of Spider. There are very 
many species of Spider in Palestine ; some which spin webs, like 
the common Garden Spider, some which dig subterranean cells 
and make doors in them, like the well-known Trap-door Spider 
of Southern Europe, and some which have no webs, but chase 
their prey upon the ground, like the Wolf and Hunting Spiders. 
Notice is. however, only taken of those which spin webs. 



ANNELIDA. 



THE WOEM. 

Various words translated as ""Worm" — Probable confusion of the words — The 
Rimmah and the Tole'ah — The Worm which destroyed Jonah's gourd — The 
Earthworm. 

The word " worm " occurs many times in the Authorized Version, 
and is a rendering of three Hebrew words. One is sds, which 
has been already explained under the article Moth ; the second is 
rimmah; and the third tole'ah. There is very great difficulty 
in ascertaining the real signification of these words, unless 
we assume that the Hebrews were not aware of the distinction 
between actual Annelida and the larvae of various insects. 

Even at the present day we commit a similar error. We speak 
of the wire-worm, which is the larva of one kind of beetle. 
We say that wood is worm-eaten, signifying that it has been 



THE WORM. 645 

attacked by the larva of another kind of beetle. Then we use 
the word " palmer- worm " to signify the larva of a moth, " glow- 
worm " to signify a beetle, " tape- worm " to signify an entozoon, 
and — strangest of all — " blind worm " to signify a lizard which 
can see perfectly well. We therefore need not wonder that the 
Hebrew language produces similar confusion of nomenclature. 

The other words are frequently used in connexion with each 
other. The Eimmah is the " worm " that was bred in the manna 
when it had been kept beyond the specified time, and it is 
evident that the larva of some insect, such as the blow-fly, 
is signified. 

The word is evidently used in the same sense by Job. The 
" worm shall feed sweetly on him " (xxiv. 20). " They shall lie 
down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them " (xxi. 
26). The same word is employed in his lamentation over his 
evil case : " My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust ; 
my skin is broken, and become loathsome " (vii. 5). In xxv. 6 
he uses both words : " Man that is a worm, and the son of 
man that is a worm." This passage is more correctly rendered 
in the Hebrew Bible : " Man that is a worm (rimmah), and the 
son of man which is a maggot" (tole'ah). Both words are also 
used in connexion with each other by Isaiah : " The worm 
(rimmah) is spread under thee, and the worms (tola'im) cover 
thee" (xiv. 11). 

The well-known passage in Job xix. 26 is altogether wrongly 
rendered in the text, the marginal translation being much more 
correct. The Worm is not mentioned at all in that passage, 
which the Jewish Bible renders as follows : " Even after my 
skin shall have been stripped off this [body] and flesh, I shall 
see Cod." 

The Worm which destroyed the gourd of Jonah was a Tolaeth 
(another form of toleah). See Jonah iv. 7. 

The passage in Micah probably refers to the earthworm : 
"They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of 
their holes like worms of the earth" (vii. 17). In this case, 
however, the expression is a general one, and, as may be seen by 
rtierence to the marginal translation, is more correctly rendered 
uui as " worms," but as " creeping things." 



646 BIBLE ANIMALS. 



THE HOESE LEECH. 



Signification of the word Alukah — The Arabic word — Leeches in Palestine — The 
horse and the Leech — Leeches in England. 



In Prov. xxx. 15 there is a word which only occurs once in the 
Scriptures. This is alukah, which is translated as horse-leech. 
" The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give." 

The Hebrew Bible does not translate the word at all. There 
is, however, no doubt that the translation is a correct one. 
Buxtorf renders the word as sanguisuga hirudo, and it is 
worthy of remark that the Arabic name for the Leech, Altik, is 
identical with the Hebrew Alukah. 

The Leeches are very common in Palestine, and infest the 
rivers to such an extent that they enter the nostrils of animals 
who come to drink, and cause great annoyance and even danger. 
The following anecdote, related by Mr. H. Dixon in his " Holy 
Land,"' gives us a good idea of the prevalence of the Leeches, 
and the tenacity with which they retain their hold : — 

" At Beit-Dejan, on a slight twist in the road, we find the 
wheel and well, and hear a delicious plash and rustle in the 
troughs. To slip from my seat to dip Sabeah's nose into the 
fluid is the work of a second ; but no sooner has she lapped up 
a mouthful of water, than one sees that the refuse falling back 
from her lips into the tank is dabbled and red. Opening her 
mouth, I find a gorged leech dangling from her gum. But the 
reptile being swept off, and the mare's nose dipt into the cooling 
stream , the blood still flows from between her teeth, and, forcing 
them open, I find two other leeches lodged in the roof of her 
mouth. 

" Poor little beast ! how grateful and relieved she seems, how 
gay, how gentle, when I have torn these suckers from her flesh, 



SPONGE AND CORAL. 647 

and soused the water about her wounds ; and how my hunting- 
whip yearns to descend upon the shoulders of that laughing and 
careless Nubian slave ! " 

Persons passing through the river are also attacked by them, 
and, if they have a delicate skin, suffer greatly. Even in England 
this will happen. While bathing in a Kentish stream, I have 
found, when coming out of the water, that numbers of Leeches 
were adhering to me, and have had considerable trouble in 
removing them. 



PROTOZOA AND RADIATA. 



SPONGE AND CORAL 



Use of the Sponge in Scripture — Probability that the ancient Jews were acquainted 
with it — Sponges of the Mediterranean — The Coral, and its value — Signification 
of the word Ramoth. 



There is little to be said on either of these subjects. 

Sponge is only mentioned with reference to the events of the 
Crucifixion, where it is related that a soldier placed a sponge 
upon hyssop, dipped it in vinegar (i.e. the acid wine issued to 
the Roman soldiers), and held it to the Lord's lips. There is 
little doubt that the ancient Hebrews were fully aware of the 
value of the Sponge, which they could obtain from the Medi- 
terranean which skirted all their western coasts. 

The Coral is mentioned in two passages of Scripture: "No 
mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls '*' (Job xxviii. 18). 
The second occurrence of the word is in Ezek. xxvii. 16 : "They 
occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, 
and fine linen, and coral, and agate." 

This Coral, which is described as being brought from Syria, 
was probably that of the Red Sea, where the Coral abounds, and 



648 BIBLE ANIMALS. 

where it attains the greatest perfection. The Hebrew word, 
ramoth, is expressive of the peculiar growth of the Coral, and 
signifies high, or lofty. 




CORAL. 

*-*I/o mention shall be ttuu1c of coral." — Rev. xviii. 18. 



ON EVOLUTION 



In these days every educated man and woman talks of develop- 
ment, of evolution and of Darwinism. Many are anxious to know 
what they are, whether they are established by scientific evidence, 
and what is their moral and religious tendency. In this paper, 
without entering into minute scientific details, I am to give a plain 
account of this new theory addressed to those who have not leisure 
or opportunity to study the numerous and very complicated discus- 
sions on this subject; and then I am to present the religious 
aspects of the doctrine. 

It is evident that evolution runs through all nature : one thing 
comes out of another. Every object on the earth at this moment, 
say rain-drop, flake of snow, rock, crystal, jewel, has been formed 
out of pre-existing materials ; and when it has fulfilled its purpose 
and disappeared, it is not annihilated ; its elements still exist and 
have to appear in a new form. It is believed by men of science 
that the sun, earth and planets may have been fashioned out of an 
original floating matter or star dust. The plant proceeds from the 
seed, the oak is the development of the acorn. Animals are the 
offspring of parents, and proceed from a germ. This is known to 
all, and is acknowledged by all. Some are carrying the doctrine 
much farther. They are discovering development in national 
wealth and in national occurrences. The Reformation in the six- 
teenth century, the English Revolution of 1688, the American war 
of Independence, the French Revolution of 1790, all grew out of 
the circumstances in which the countries were placed, out of the 
abuses that existed, and the state of feeling abroad. There is evo- 
lution even in the advance of science ; thus the discovery of the 
circulation of the blood revolutionized the whole of anatomy ; and 
it is expected that this theory of development is to be followed by 
a whole host of scientific consequences. The doctrine shows that 
there is a continuity in nature — that the present is the child of the 
past and the parent of the future. 

649 



650 EVOLUTION. 

The Scriptures teach a doctrine of evolution. " The earth was 
without form and void " (Gen. i. 2), and the forms of land, atmo- 
sphere and sea came out of it. " And God said let the earth bring 
forth grass, and the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding 
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself after his kind" (v. 11). 
So in regard to animals, "the waters brought forth abundantly 
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind ;" and then 
" the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing and 
beast of the earth after his kind " (vs. 21, 24). Of man's body it is 
said, " The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground " (ii. 
7). In a remarkable passage, of which we may not yet see the 
full significance, " My substance was not hid from thee, when I 
was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the 
earth, thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect and in 
thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were 
fashioned when as yet there was none of them" (Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16). 

But is there nothing but development? Are objects produced in 
this way and in no other? That is the question for discussion. 
In answering it we have to insist, in the first place, that develop- 
ment implies a previous matter out of which the thing is developed. 
This matter must have properties w T hich make it to act and evolve 
things .out of itself. All but atheists acknowledge that this matter 
has been created by God. The development proceeds in so orderly 
and in so beneficent a manner that it seems to give evidence of the 
existence of a wise and good God. 

And may not the God who created matter at first interpose to 
introduce new powers and new agents ? In particular, must there 
not be a creative act when plants appear, and when animals 
appear? The ancients were not agreed on this point, and their 
opinions were not of any value on the one side or the other, as they 
made no scientific investigation. Augustine, one of the greatest of 
the Fathers of the Church, thought that animals might come out 
of the slime of the earth, without any parentage — always, he would 
add, by the power of God. But among scientific men in modern 
times, the accepted doctrine was that all plants came from a seed, 
all animals from a parentage. They knew that varieties were pro- 
duced by circumstances, but they held that species were fixed. 
They allowed that climate, modes of life and training could pro- 
duce different breeds of horses, but they maintained that the horse, 
as a horse, could proceed only from the horse. 



EVOLUTION. 651 

But there arose from time to time naturalists who denied the 
accepted doctrine. De Maillet, at the beginning of last century, 
maintained that animals originally formed in the waters which 
covered the world were transferred to the land when it emerged, 
and there suited themselves to their new positions and improved 
by external circumstances. Lamarck (A. D. 1801) started the 
theory that there was an inherent principle of improvement in 
plants and animals, and that external conditions working on this 
produced gradually variations of species, which gave rise to new 
species, genera and orders. A great stir was made by the publica- 
tion of " The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation "(1844), 
in which it was ingeniously argued that creation, as he called it, 
took place according to law, and in particular that a prolongation 
of the time of the development in the womb may give rise to a 
higher type. The work, not being scientific, did not meet with 
much acceptance with naturalists. But universal attention was 
called to the subject when in 1858 Charles Darwin, a distinguished 
naturalist and a very careful observer, published his work " Origin 
of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of 
Favored Kaces in the Struggle for Life." The title indicates the 
nature of the process by which species are supposed to be gene- 
rated. Certain individuals, by exertion or otherwise, get a pecu- 
liarity which suits them better to their position. These survive, 
while others perish, and the peculiarity becomes hereditary, and 
goes down to their offspring. A struggle ensues, the strongest 
race prevails, and as a result of the whole there is an advance 
in the forms of plants and animals. Let this go on, by small 
augmentations at a time, for millions of years or ages, and it is' 
able to produce all the species and all the genera now on the earth. 

I would now state as clearly and as briefly as I can the argu- 
ments for and against the Development Theory. 

1. Looking to the flora and fauna now upon the earth, we find 
them distinguished by a unity of plan. For instance, the fins of 
fishes, the wings of birds, the fore feet of reptiles and of mammals, 
all correspond to each other, and this when they are made to fulfill 
very different functions. It can be shown that the venation of 
leaves, the branches of trees, and the whole tree, take very much 
the same form. There are affinities between the lichen covering 
the bare rock and the oak shooting up toward the sky ; between 
the polyp confined to one spot in a pool aud the lion ranging 



652 EVOLUTION. 

through the forest. Now, we are impelled to seek for a cause of 
this. It can be explained by supposiug that the whole proceeded 
from a single germ or a few germs, which germ or germs may 
have risen under favorable conditions out of favorably disposed 
inorganic matter. 

2. There has been a gradual advance in the geological ages 
from lower to higher forms. There have been breaks, as might 
have been expected, in the series ; still, upon the whole, there has 
been progress from the first animal discovered, the unshapely 
Eozoon Canadense, up to the highest mammal. We are impelled 
to seek for a cause, and in doing so we are obliged to suppose, 
either that there is a tendency in the very organism itself to rise to 
higher states, or that there is an elevation by a happy start or by 
a succession of immeasurably small additions, the gain being 
handed down from parent to child ; and as those who are without 
the advantage disappear, and those who have it multiply, a new 
and better race becomes settled. A hill, we may suppose, is 
covered with evergreens ; a severe frost comes and destroys nine- 
tenths, and these the weaker of them ; only the stronger live, and 
these spread and shed their seed, and in due time the whole hill is 
adorned with stronger and healthier trees. This may enable us to 
understand what has taken place in the geological ages. As new 
and trying circumstances arise there is a struggle for existence ; the 
unfit disappear and the fit survive, and there is progress upon the 
whole through the long ages that have run their course. 

3. We can experiment on this subject, and exhibit the changes 
produced both on plants and animals by artificial means. " It was 
the study of domesticated animals," says Prof. Asa Gray of Cam- 
bridge, " that suggested the theory." Mr. Darwin has taken great 
pains to observe the variations produced on animals by domestica- 
tion, and on some of the more important plants by cultivation, and 
has published a work in two volumes " On the Variation of Animals 
and Plants under Domestication." He shows that animated beings 
are affected by shelter, by protection from exposure, by climate, by 
food. He has been particularly successful in dealing with pigeons, 
showing that numerous and very diverse forms have all proceeded 
from one known source. His argument is that in these changes, 
produced by domestic care and made hereditary, we have an expe- 
rimental exemplification of the way in which variations and new 
races have been produced in the geological ages. 



EVOLUTION. 653 

4. There is a correspondence between the progress of animals in 
the geological ages and the growth of the individual, as revealed 
by embryology. " The chick in the egg assumes in succession the 
aspect of a fish, a snake, a bird of low degree, and finally the 
similitude of its parent. Even man possesses, at an early period, 
the branchial apertures of the fish, and assumes in succession the 
aspect of a seal, a quadruped, a monkey and a human being." 1 
All this seems to prove — it is not easy to tell how — that the higher 
animals have passed through the lower forms before they have 
reached their present organization. 

5. It was seen from the very starting of the theory that it must, 
in the end, be applied to the genesis of man. Many persons other- 
wise favorable shrunk from this extension. But in 1870, Darwin, 
in his "Descent of Man," boldly declared that man was descended 
from some lower form, and has shown that the brutes and man 
have many common qualities, not only in their bodily structure, but 
in their mental instincts and faculties, such as their social attach- 
ments, curiosity, memory; and he reaches the conclusion, "There 
can consequently hardly be a doubt that man is an offshoot from 
the old world Simian stem, and that under a genealogical point of 
view he must be classed with the Catarhine division." (Part I. c. vi.) 
As man agrees with anthropomorphous apes "not only in those 
characters which he possesses in common with the whole Catarhine 
group, but in other peculiar characters, such as the absence of a 
tail and of callosities and in general appearance, we may infer 
that some ancient member of the anthropomorphous sub-group 
gave birth to man." Mr. Darwin can carry our genealogy still 
farther back : " Man is descended from a hairy quadruped, fur- 
nished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, 
and an inhabitant of the old world," and would be classed amongst 
the Quadrumana. 2 "The Quadrumana and all the higher mam- 
mals are probably derived from an ancient marsupial animal, and 
this through a long line of diversified forms either from some reptile- 

1 Winchell on " The Doctrine of Evolution," p. 29. 

2 The Quadrumana or monkeys are subdivided into the Platyrhina, with 
nostrils placed far apart and prehensile tails; and Catarhina, with nostrils 
close together and non-prehensile tails. The former are confined to South 
America, the latter are found extensively in the old world. The highest 
section of the monkeys, the anthropomorphous apes, belong to Catarhine 
division. 



654 EVOLUTION. 

like or some amphibian-like creature, and this again from some 
fish-like animal. In the dim obscurity of the past we can see that 
the early progenitor of all the vertebrata must have been an 
aquatic animal with the two sexes united in the same individual, 
and with the most important organs of the body (such as the brain 
and heart) imperfectly developed. This animal seems to have 
been more like the larvse of our existing marine Ascidians than 
any other form known." l (Part II. c. xii.) 

To illustrate these points we have had an immense number and 
variety of cases collected by Mr. Darwin and other naturalists, 
and detailed in books, in journals and the reports of scientific 
societies. It may be stated generally that there is no dispute as 
to the facts, which are admitted on all hands. The discussion 
turns round the theory advanced to account for them. I am now 
to state the considerations urged on the other side. 

1. It is admitted that there are no facts — that there is not even 
a single fact — directly proving the doctrine. We have no expe- 
rience of one species being transmuted into another. We do not 
see it taking place before our eyes. There is no trace of it in the 
historical ages. The vines found depicted in the tombs of Egypt, and 
the animals on the monuments, are of the same species as those now 
on the earth. History goes back three or four thousand years, but 
gives no record of a new species of plant or animal appearing. If 
thousands of years cannot create a new creature, it may be 
doubted if millions can. The geological ages do show us new 
species appearing ever and anon, but disclose no evidence of their 
being derived from the species previously existing. Mr. Darwin 
has ingeniously constructed a long chain of descent from the ascid- 
ian to man, but he has not been able to catch one species changing 
into another at any one point. 

2. Darwinism is at best an hypothesis. Hypotheses are intro- 
duced in science to explain facts. They are to be propounded 
under very stringent restrictions. They are to be admitted only 
when they explain the facts. There must be no facts inconsis- 
tent with them. When an hypothesis explains the facts gene- 
rally, it may be admitted that there is some truth in it ; but even 
then it may not be the whole truth ; it may require to be supple- 

1 The Ascidians are a low order of the " shell fishes " or molluscs. They 
are like two necked leather flasks, and are fixed on rocks. They somewhat 
resemble the Amphioxus or lowest fish. 



EVOLUTION. 655 

mented by some other considerations, and to take a form which 
entirely changes its bearing, scientific and religious. Tried by 
such tests, Darwinism is seen to be encompassed with many diffi- 
culties, and cannot be regarded as established. It certainly does 
not account for the whole phenomena, and there are facts inconsist- 
ent with it. There may be truth in it, and yet it may require to 
be greatly modified. 

3. It does not account for the whole of the facts. It can offer 
no explanation of the origin of the matter out of which animated 
beings are formed. In order to start, Mr. Darwin is obliged to 
postulate three or four germs, or at least one germ, created by 
God ; the admission is candid, and show r s that in the last resort we 
have to call in something higher than evolution — in short, we have 
to call in God. The younger advocates of the theory are not 
satisfied with this admission. Dr. Tyndall, in his Belfast address, 
opposes as strongly the creation of a few forms as of a multitude. 
Prof. Bastian imagines that he has been able to produce animated 
life out of inanimate ; but scientific men, including Prof. Huxley, 
set no value on his experiments. All our higher naturalists allow 
that there is no evidence at this present time of there being now, 
or of there ever having been, spontaneous generation. Some are 
cherishing the idea that there may have been life in the original 
matter, and continuing dormant for millions of years, till it came 
forth in animals under favorable conditions. We see to what 
far-fetches these scientific men are obliged to resort, to support an 
hypothesis of which it may be said that, instead of explaining 
things, it needs farther hypotheses to bear it up. Not satisfied 
with all this, Mr. Herbert Spencer and Dr. Tyndall are obliged to 
fall back on an " inscrutable power " to account for the whole, for 
the origination, the continuance and the subsistence of all phenom- 
ena. Theists feel that they have a much stronger as well as a 
more comfortable ground w T hen they rest all things on God, and 
reverently inquire into his mode of procedure, and what place 
natural selection may have in it. 

4. Mr. Darwin seems quite aware that evolution cannot explain 
everything. He is obliged to call in not only original germs 
created by God, but in his later works pangenesis, to continue the 
life. Every living creature is supposed by him to possess innu- 
merable minute atoms, named " gemmules," which are generated in 
every part of the body, are constantly moving and have the power 



656 EVOLUTION. 

of reproduction, and, in particular, are collected in the generative 
organs, coming thither from every part of the body. "These 
almost infinitely numerous and minute gemmules must be included 
in each bud, ovule, spermatozoon and pollen grain." (" Animals 
and Plants under Domestication," vol. ii. 366.) It is not pretended 
that there is any proof of this ; it is an hypothesis brought in to 
support an hypothesis. A structure which needs such abutments 
is not so simple and sufficient as it seems to superficial observers 
to be. 

5. It is admitted that there is a common plan running through 
the whole vegetable and the whole animal kingdom ; but it does 
not follow that it is produced by natural selection, by the struggle 
for existence and by heredity. The unity and the beneficence of 
the plan show that it is the product of intelligence ; plan, adap- 
tation and harmony seem to be indications of mind. The unity 
of nature is a proof of the operation of a divine arrangement. 
In fulfillment of his purpose it is conceivable that God may act 
in one or other of tw r o ways. Even as he created matter at first, 
he may, when the fit time comes, create plants and animals, or new 
species of plants and animals ; or he may carry on the whole by a 
secondary agency. Man may be able, by a long process of labor- 
ious investigation, to find out what this agency is in whole, or 
more probably only in part. Part of it may be the struggle for 
existence and the law of heredity ; but it does not follow that this 
is the whole : " No man can find out the work that God maketh, 
from the beginning to the end." 

6. There are many breaks in the succession. Geology, and it 
alone — not history — shows us new species appearing, but discloses 
no ancestors from whom they could have been derived. But then 
it is said that, as the geological record is very imperfect, we 
may yet discover the intermediate links. To this all I have to 
reply is that, should these cast up, we must provide a place for 
them. But for the present we must suit our hypothesis to the 
facts ; and the facts show wide gaps in the succession. Hseckel 
would derive higher plants from alg£e or sea-weeds. "Nothing 
could more curiously contradict actual facts. Algse were appa- 
rently in the Silurian neither more nor less elevated than in the 
modern seas, and those forms of vegetable life which may seem to 
bridge over the space between them and the land plants in the 
modern period are wanting in the older geological periods, while 



EVOLUTION. 657 

land plants seem to start at once into beiDg in the guise of club 
mosses, a group by no means of low standing. Our oldest land 
plants thus represent one of the highest types of that cryptoga- 
mous series to which they belong, and, moreover, are better 
developed examples of that type than those now existing. We 
may say, if we please, that all the connecting links have been lost ; 
but this is begging the whole question, since nothing but the exist- 
ence of such links could render the hypothesis of derivation 
possible." The same eminent palaeontologist assures us that "there 
are forms of life in the Silurian which cannot be traced to the 
Cambrian, and which relate to new and even prospective condi- 
tions which the unaided powers of the animals of the earlier 
period could not have provided for." 1 Some eminent American 
geologists favor the theory that, instead of an unbroken series, 
there is once and again the sudden and abrupt introduction of new 
species — they cannot tell how, the rapid elevation of them till they 
reach their highest capacity, when they remain stationary for a 
long period, and in the end decay and disappear. 

7. No argument drawn from changes produced by domestica- 
tion can admit of a legitimate explanatory application to cases in 
which everything must be done by unaided natural agency. By 
artificial means man may produce changes w T hich would never 
take place spontaneously ; and then it may be urged, and cannot 
be contradicted, that domestication has never produced a new 
species, either of plant or animal. The supposed new species thus 
originated have, when carefully investigated, turned out to be new 
varieties. 

8. All artificially produced varieties tend to return to their 
original state. The garden flower when neglected always tends to go 
back to the condition in which it was in the meadow or on the 
mountain. Domestic animals, cast out from human habitations 
and allowed to run wild, will, as they consort together, become like 
what they were before they were brought under human care. 

9. Species can be made to cross, but then the offspring is not 
prolific — at least does not continue to be so. The crossing of the 
horse and ass gives us a very useful animal, the mule ; but mules 
do not propagate their kind, and so cannot give us a new race. 

1 Dawson's " The Story of the Earth and Man," pp. 77, 79. It is proper 
to mention that in the Geological History of the Earth, the Silurian rocks 
succeed the Cambrian. 
43 



658 EVOLUTION. 

10. These- two last circumstances seem to show that there is such 
a thing as fixed orders, genera and species both in the animal and 
vegetable kingdoms. It is acknowledged that there are fixed 
species — if we may adapt the term — in the mineral kingdom, such 
as the sixty-four elementary bodies. No one has been able to trans- 
mute metals into each other, say to transmute iron into gold. So, 
from whatever cause, there seem to be impassable divisions in the 
animal kingdom, as the grand division vertebrate and invertebrate, 
and the subdivision of the lower animals, the Protozoa, the Radi- 
ata (Coelenterata), the Mollusca and the Annulosa. These fixed 
types give us the unity amid the variety, the stability amidst the 
mutability, by which our world is characterized. 

11. Astronomy does not allow sufficient time to geologists to 
generate all vegetable and animal life by means of natural law. 
Evolutionists require an enormous time to perform their work ; 
they talk of millions and hundred of millions of years. They 
need it, in order by small gradations, to bring protoplasm up to the 
mammal, the ascidian up to man. But our earth formed out of 
the primary matter has been thrown off at a date which can be 
approximately determined, and this, according to Sir W. Thomson, 
can amount to only a few millions of years — a period not suffi- 
cient for the evolutionist theory. I do not set much value on this 
argument, for I do not believe we can calculate the earth's age 
with anything like accuracy ; but the calculation of Sir W. Thom- 
son has more solid data to go on than the speculations of evolu- 
tionists, and we may allow the one to counteract the other. 

12. If there be difficulties in showing how one species of plant 
or animal can be derived from another, these are immeasurably 
increased when we would produce man from the brutes. Mr. 
Alfred Russel Wallace, who started the theory of natural selec- 
tion contemporaneously with Darwin, draws back at this point. 
He urges a number of very powerful objections. (See " Natural 
Selection.") There is the size of the skull. " We have seen that 
the average cranial capacity of the lowest savages is probably not 
less than five-sixths of that of the highest civilized races, while the 
brain of the anthropoid apes scarcely amounts to one-third of that 
of man, in both cases taking the average ; or the proportions may 
be more clearly represented by the following figures: anthropoid 
apes, ten; savages, twenty-six; civilized man, thirty-two." He 
emphatically urges that savages have a brain capacity not required 



EVOLUTION. 659 

by their wants, and which could not have been produced by their 
wants in the struggles of life. Mr. Wallace cannot understand 
how man if derived from the brutes should ever have lost the hairy 
covering on his back so necessary to protect from cold and expo- 
sures of various kinds, till his higher intelligence enabled him to 
do so otherwise. This starts the general difficulty : in respect of 
his power of sheltering or defending himself from physical evil, 
man is helpless compared with the highest of the lower animals ; 
and how did it come that he was able to continue while his mental 
powers were growing? Mr. Darwin is obliged to admit that there 
is not now on the face of the earth, and that there has not been 
found in the geological ages, an animal from which man could 
have directly sprung. 

But the physiological differences are not after all the decisive divid- 
ing lines between man and the lower animals. His grand distinc- 
tion is to be found in his mental and moral qualities. There are 
such qualities to be found in all men, and in no brutes. You may 
detect them in the germ or in the norm, in the human infant and 
in the savage. The teacher draws them out in the child, aud they 
are capable of indefinite growth. The missionary tries to rouse 
them in the savage, and partially succeeds. No one attempts to do 
this with even the noblest of the brute creatures, such as the 
elephant, the horse or the dog. Man can perceive the essential 
distinction between truth and error, between good and evil. He 
can form lofty abstract and general ideas, carry on long processes 
of reasoning, as in mathematics, construct far-reaching sciences, 
such as arithmetic, geometry, physics, astronomy, geology, psychol- 
ogy and ethics. He can look back into the past and forward into 
the future ; gathering wisdom from experience, he can devise plans 
which are fitted to accomplish very distant ends ; he can construct 
governments and set up political institutions. He dwells on lofty 
ideas of space and time and infinity. He believes in God, he 
worships God and hopes for an immortality. In his bodily organi- 
zation he may be connected with the lower animals, but in his 
spiritual nature he is formed in the very image of God. 

Looking to these considerations and combining them, the conclu- 
sion forced upon us is that the Darwinian theory as a whole is not 
proven, and that it will need to be greatly modified, limited and 
enlarged before it is entitled to command our assent. 

There is an idea that these late discoveries in science may over- 



660 EVOLUTION. 

throw religion, natural or revealed. Some are glorying in this as 
relieving them from all religious restraints. Some are under deep 
apprehensions that they may thereby be deprived of their fixed 
faith and their encouraging hopes. AVhat, it may be asked, is the 
feeling which the truth-loving Christian should cherish? What 
the attitude he should take? Let him accept the truths of science, 
so far as they are established ; but let him not be captivated by 
theories which go far beyond the facts, and which may require to 
be modified and corrected before they are conformed to the reality 
of things. Let him not in the mean time give up his faith in God's 
Word, which has such strong evidence in its favor, historical, moral 
and experimental, and which has stood firm amid so many revolu- 
tions of science, which gives us a glimpse of the progressive work 
of creation three thousand years before geology was thought of, 
and uttered general predictions, as for instance regarding the 
scattering of the Jews, the rise of popery and its fall — predictions 
which are being fulfilled before our eyes. There may be times 
when there seems to be a contradiction between science and relig- 
ion, more frequently when we cannot see the reconciling link, just 
as there are times when we cannot see the consistency between two 
parts of a good man's conduct, or between the statements of two 
witnesses, both truthful. In these latter cases we wait for further 
light; let us do the same when at any time there is a seeming 
incongruity between Genesis and geology, between God's word and 
God's works. The following is something like the picture which 
would rise before the intelligent Christian as he looks to the 
acknowledged truths of science on the one hand and the teachings 
of God's word on the other ; in which it will be observed that 
there is a most wonderful correspondence between the two, as we 
gaze on which we find that the microscopical differences disappear. 

I invite you into a temple in which are symbols and inscriptions 
fitted to instruct us as to the true character and history of our 
world. That temple is not made by human hands, but by Him 
who created the heavens and the earth. It is larger, grander, and 
yet simpler, than the rock-cut temples' of India, than the columnar 
vistas of Egypt, than the cathedrals raised by the piety of the 
Middle Ages. Some of the great passes in the Alps, Andes and 
Himalayas bear some likeness to it in length and height, but they 
are bare and sterile, whereas this is covered on both sides with 



EVOLUTION. 661 

figures full of meaning. At the grand entrance are two forms 
which arrest the attention. The one on the right consists of two 
tables of stone, representing law — moral and natural. The one on 
the left is an altar, with flowers and fruit on it, and a bleeding 
lamb. Here the vista bursts on our view, and extends on till the 
sides are lost in the dim distance ; but at the farthest end is an 
object which no distance can lessen— the Kock of ages, with a 
throne set on it which cannot be moved, and the Ancient of Days 
seated on it, and in the midst " a Lamb as it had been slain ;" and 
midway between the entrance and the end is a cross lifted up and 
a meek sufferer stretched upon it, but with a halo round his head, 
and above him, spanning the arch, a rainbow formed by the refrac- 
tion of the pure white light, which streams from Him who dweJleth 
in light that is inaccessible to mortal eyes and full of glory. On 
each side of this extended gallery are symbolic figures, and these 
grow out of each other, and carry on a continued history from the 
past into the future onward into eternity. The great limners of 
the world are busily employed in drawing the pictures in this 
palace of the great King. I am to engage you for a little while in 
looking at them and reading the inscriptions. 

1. The Religious Side. — They have been written "at sundry 
times and in divers parts " by holy men as they were moved by the 
Holy Ghost. The first inscription that meets our eye is "In the 
beginning" (£v apyj^) — the w T ord used by the old Greek philoso- 
phers when they were inquiring after the origin and principle of 
all things. How far back into the remote this carries us we can- 
not tell, but then " God created the heavens and the earth." We 
then see a brooding darkness, but it is a cloud of seeds from which 
the worlds are formed. " The earth was without form and void," 
but the wind of the Spirit blows upon it, and a voice is heard, 
" Let there be light," and light appears, and henceforth there is 
systematic order : there is development in order or order in develop- 
ment, and at the close of each day or period God declares " all 
things to be very good." As yet there is no sun or moon ; but 
there is rotating evening and morning, and the evening and the 
morning constitute the first day — we know not of what length, for 
the clock of time is not yet set up, and the word day often means 
epoch in Scripture. In the second day there is the rising of the 
aerial and the sinking of the fluid. In the third day the sea is 
divided from the land ; on the same day life appears, and has a 



662 EVOLUTION. 

developing power in it "for the earth brought forth grass, and 
herb yielding seed after his kind, whose seed is in itself after his 
kind." On the fourth two solid lights appear, and become the 
rulers and dividers of time. When the fifth day rises out of the 
night, we see the waters bringing forth the swarming creatures, and 
we have fishes and fowls, with moving creatures and sea monsters, 
all with a power of evolution, for the waters bring forth after their 
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind, and are enjoined to 
multiply and fill the waters in the sea and the earth. A sixth day 
dawns, and we see reptiles and beasts, all after their kind ; and in 
this epoch appears a nobler creature made after the image of God, 
and with the command to be fruitful and multiply and replenish 
the earth. This was the special work of Elohim, the one God with 
a plural nature, who, on finishing the creation, leaves the living 
creatures to develop by the powers with which he has endowed 
them. 

Another vision joins on, and we have, not Elohim, but the Lord 
Jehovah, the lawgiver, the covenant-maker ; and we have exhibited 
to us the relation in which man stands to him. Man is represented 
as formed out of the dust of the ground, but with a divine breath 
breathed into him ; he is put under law, with a promise of life and 
a threatening of death. We now come to the most mysterious of 
all the records. A tempter, indicating an earlier fall, suddenly 
intrudes, and he uses the beast of the field and the lower passions 
as his instruments ; and henceforth man exhibits devilish propensi- 
ties of pride and rebellion, on the one hand, and animal propensities 
of appetite and lust on the other ; and there is sin propagating 
itself, actual sin developing from original sin as a seed, and man 
driven into a w T orld where are thorns and thistles ; and the multi- 
plication of the race is with sorrow, and man has to earn his bread 
with the sweat of his face, and his body has to return to the dust 
from which it was taken. 

There now appears a figure with an inscription containing the 
whole history of mankind in epitome. You see a Being possessed 
evidently of superhuman power, but with a truly human nature, 
having his heel bitten by a serpent, on whose head he sets his foot 
and crushes it for ever. The attached writing is, " I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 
seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 
Henceforth there are two seeds, and each develops after its kind, 



EVOLUTION. 663 

and they contend, and must contend, till the good gains the victory. 
A seed — not seeds, as of many, but seed, as of one — is developed 
from the woman, but by a heavenly power, the Holy Ghost, who 
brought form out of the formless at creation ; and this persouage 
is represented as suffering, as having his heel bruised, and in his 
suffering destroying the power of evil. Henceforth our world is a 
scene of contest. Man is warring with the unwilling soil, with 
privation, disappointment, loss, disease and death ; one man con- 
tending w T ith another because of conflicting interests and passions ; 
one race and nation fighting with another ; and a large portion of 
human history is a history of war. To restrain excessive wicked- 
ness the earth is visited with a flood — as geologists tell us it had 
often been before — but animal pairs are preserved to continue the 
races, and the rainbow is made to give assurance to the terrified 
fathers that waters will no more cover the earth. The purpose of 
God is fulfilled in the scattering of men ; but the people, wherever 
they go, propagate the evil, and change the incorruptible God into 
an image made like to corruptible man, and " to birds and four- 
footed beasts, and creeping things." To preserve a seed who may 
know the truth, a special man and a special seed is set apart. Out 
of this seed comes the father both of history and poetry, who, in 
language of unsurpassed simplicity and grandeur, has described 
creation, and written the inflexible law in the granite of Sinai, and, 
himself a prophet, spoken of a greater Prophet to come. Their 
greatest poet, himself a great warrior, portrays the contest between 
the good and the evil going on in the world in warlike imagery ; 
and feeling that he himself is not the man to build the spiritual 
temple, because his hands have been imbrued in blood, points ever 
to a King who " in his majesty rides prosperously because of truth, 
meekness and righteousness." There follows a succession of pro- 
phets, each with his vision and his parable ; and the grandest of 
them, whose sentences flow like a river descending from the heights 
of heaven to water the plains of earth, speaks of him as wounded, 
bruised, dying and in the grave, but seeing the fruit of the travail 
of his soul, and extending his dominion till it covers the whole 
earth as the waters do the channel of the sea. Contemporaneous 
with these we have typical personages — prophets, priests and kings 
— with their faces shining with light as they look forward to One 
suspended on the cross, and beyond to the throne of God. In the 
middle of the ages that great Person appears, passing through 



664 EVOLUTION. 

suffering to conquest, fighting with sin and subduing it, connecting 
heaven and earth as by a ladder, and as a rainbow spanning the 
world. 

Beyond the central figure a new life appears. God comes forth 
as creator the first time since he rested after creating the heavens 
and the earth. Just as in the prehistoric ages there had appeared 
a plant life, and an animal life, and an intellectual life, and a 
moral life, so now we have a spiritual life : it is the dispensation 
of the Spirit. Those who have sat for ages in darkness now see a 
great light. A new people come forth, not dwelling in a separate 
locality, but scattered among all people, like salt to preserve, like 
seed to propagate, the life all over the world. With that spiritual 
life come other forms of good, such as art, and civilization, and 
widening comforts, and the cultivation of the intellect, and the 
refining of the feelings. But the soil has still to be ploughed and 
harrowed in order to yield seed and fruit; the spiritual forces have 
to meet and overcome obstacles ; and every good cause before it 
succeeds has to produce a martyr, out of whose ashes a new life 
proceeds. Not only so, but there is a contest in every heart; "the 
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and 
these are contrary the one to the other." The cause moves on, as 
the light comes from the sun in vibrations, as the tides come up 
upon the land — advancing and receding, but on the whole advan- 
cing. In the last symbolic book we hear a succession of trumpets 
sounding to call men to the battle, and see vials poured out to 
destroy the seeds of evil and purify the atmosphere. Many pass 
to and fro, and knowledge is increased ; agencies for good are mul- 
tiplied, and the kingdom extends till it spreads over the whole 
earth, which has rest for a thousand years — we may suppose a day 
for a year. Beyond this the vision becomes dim from the distance, 
but we see the old adversary loosed for a little while, and the earth 
burned with fire, and the dazzling bright throne of judgment set 
up, and the God-man upon it, and every one giving an account of 
the deeds done in the body, whether they have been good or 
whether they have been evil ; and then a separation, these de- 
scending by their own weight into their own place of blackness, 
and those carried up to heaven by their attraction to God, where 
they join in the song, " Salvation to our God that sitteth on the 
throne, and to the Lamb." 

2. The Scientific Side. — Here, as on the other side, we have a 



EVOLUTION. 665 

body of men busily employed in drawing figures and carving 
inscriptions, all to throw light on the past and present of our 
world. They are left to their native powers, and have to work by 
observation ; they are not kept from error by any special guidance, 
and much that they write is laid in colors which fade, or in false 
colors which require to be blotted out by those who come after. 
Still much remains, and shall remain for ever, chiseled in the rock 
and never to be effaced, and this is growing and accumulating. 

We have, first, lawgivers, who, finding that men are prone to 
evil, have proclaimed laws more or less perfect to secure obedience. 
Then there are moralists, from Socrates downward, inscribing on 
that wall what they have found written on their hearts, and which 
they regard, if only they read it aright, as a transcript of the holy 
nature and the supreme will of God. Alongside of them you may 
notice the broad-browed philosophers, from Plato and Aristotle 
onward, speculating on fate and chance, and the relation of the 
universe to God, and demonstrating that man's soul has a conscious 
unity and personality of which it can never be deprived. The 
next group consists of historians who have given us lively narra- 
tives of the great deeds of our world, of the sacrifices which men 
have made for kindred and for country, but who have also to 
record enormous crimes, political feuds and wars which have 
deluged the earth with blood. Next and more influential are 
those who express popular feeling, and have told what this world 
of men and women is, and have enshrined their thoughts in verse, 
that they may be caught more easily and remembered longer. Let 
us notice the topics of which they treat. The oldest of them, 
never surpassed for natural strength, has sung of the wrath of 
Achilles, and the evil thus wrought. Another, full of grace, has 
sung of arms, and of a hero fleeing from a burning city, and cross- 
ing a stormy sea to found an empire. In a later age we see one 
who, though blind, has seen farther than other men, and has 
painted demoniacal pride — Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. 
Another hand has taken the lyre, and, with old Horace and modern 
songsters and satirists, has delineated the loves and hatreds, the 
hopes and disappointments, the joys and sorrows, the aspirations 
and foibles, which agitate men's bosoms. A third class, led by our 
high-browed dramatist, have exhibited on a stage what they believe 
to be the swaying motives of rich and poor, and have let us into 
the secrets of the working of ambition, passion, jealousy, pride, 



666 EVOLUTION. 

vanity, envy, revenge, caprice, fear, despair. The poet of the com- 
mon people, in describing their joys, often sensual and mad, comes 
to the conclusion that " man is made to mourn." Romancers of 
these late years are taking up the same work, and are spinning 
tales which exhibit the strength and weakness of our nature — 
yearning affections, blighted hopes, cruel betrayals — illustrated by 
seduction and murder. All of these artists describe this earth as a 
strangely mixed scene, with hills and hollows, with lakes sleeping 
in visible repose or rent by storms, with peaceful valleys and 
terrible gullies, with streams flowing gently and then pouring over 
fearful cataracts, with an ocean now inviting us to repose on its 
bosom, and anon tossing off men and vessels like seaweed. 

But let us specially look at the grand truths inscribed by the 
expounders of science, as you see them there with their instru- 
ments for weighing and measuring, and their laborious calcula- 
tions. On the religious side everything was ascribed to God, 
proceeding orderly : " Thou hast established the earth and it 
abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances ; 
for all are thy servants." A somewhat different but not inconsist- 
ent view is given of the same objects on the scientific side, where 
everything is ascribed to what is called Law, which, however, 
when properly understood, implies a lawgiver. So these men, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, are unfolding to our view the plan of the 
great Creator. On this side of the hall of science you see 
inscribed, first, mathematical figures, such as squares, triangles, 
circles, spirals and other sections of the cone, and it turns out that 
these regulate the forms and movements of objects in the heavens 
and in the earth, and are made to do so by a God who, as Plato 
says, geometrizes. Then you see science investigating inanimate 
nature, and showing that all the physical forces are modifications 
of one and the same force. Now it is seeking to discover the order 
and progression of animated beings, of plants and animals. It 
has shown that there are geological epochs : first an azoic period ; 
then plants, marine and terrestrial ; then the lower creatures with 
animal life ; then fishes, fowls, reptiles, quadrupeds ; and, finally, 
man. 

In looking at these phenomena, men discover everywhere devel- 
opment or evolution. It appears in inanimate nature — in suns, 
planets and moons being evolved out of an original matter, in a 
way which implies that the earth is older than the sun, and must 



EVOLUTION. 667 

have existed for ages, and had light shining upon it before the sun 
took his solid form. It is a characteristic of organized beings to 
produce others after their kind. Those who view development in 
the proper light see in it only a form or manifestation of law. 
Gravitation is a law of contemporaneous nature extending over all 
bodies simultaneously — over sun, moon and stars the most remote. 
Development is a law of successive nature, and secures a connec- 
tion between the past and the present, and I may add the future, 
securing a unity, and it may be a progression, from age to age. It 
is merely an exhibition of order running through successive ages, 
as the other is of order running through coexisting objects. 

But at this point difficulties and disputes arise. Is development 
so restricted that the plant or animal produces an offspring only 
after its kind, the lichen producing only the lichen, and the lily 
only the lily, and the oak only the oak, and the worm only the 
worm, and the bee only the bee, and the horse only the horse ? Or 
may not development be so extended as to imply, in new circum- 
stances and under new conditions, a modification of kinds — that is, 
new species — and an advance from age to age from lower to higher 
forms? Some maintain that there is no power in nature to change 
species, and that when a new species appears it must be by an 
immediate fiat of God acting independently of all natural agents. 
Others hold that there may be powers in nature — religious men 
say conferred by God — which gradually raise species into higher 
forms by aggregation and selection. I am not sure that religion 
has any interest in holding absolutely by the one side or other of 
this question, which it is for scientific men to settle. I am not sure 
that religion is entitled to insist that every species of insect has 
been created by a special fiat of God, with no secondary agent 
employed. 

But in prosecuting these investigations science comes to walls of 
adamant, which will not fall down at its command, and which, if 
it tries to break through, will only prostrate it, and cause it to 
exhibit its weakness before the world. (1) It cannot develop 
without a matter to develop from, and it cannot tell where this 
original matter came from. This matter must have properties: 
what are these properties ? and whence ? The impression left by 
the statement of some is that if we only had this original matter, 
everything else could be accounted for by evolution. But (2) we 
cannot, apart from a designing mind, account for that combina- 



EVOLUTION. 

tion, that organization of agencies — mechanical, electrical, chem- 
ical, vital — which produces development. (3) It cannot say how 
animal sensation or feeling came in. (4) It cannot tell when or 
how instinct came in, how or when intelligence appeared, and affec- 
tion and pity and love, and the discernment of good and evil. (5) 
In particular, it cannot render any account of the production of 
man's higher endowments, his powers of abstracting, generalizing 
and reasoning, from the individual objects presented to him, of 
discovering necessary truth, and the obligation of virtue. Science 
has not found these in the star-dust, nor were they in the ascidian, 
the fish, the monkey: how, then, did man get them, or, rather, 
whence came man as possessed of them? Science, at all these 
places, comes to chasms which it cannot fill up. It has no facts 
whatever to support its theories, and is obliged to acknowledge that 
it has none ; and as to the hypotheses which it calls in, they do not 
even seem to explain the essential facts, the appearance of new 
powers or agencies not known to be at work before. 

But meanwhile, and as it is poring into these things, it is obliged 
to look at a set of phenomena unknown to or overlooked by the 
older physicists and naturalists — has, as it looks to animated 
beings, come in view of a conflict of which it can give no account, 
and of a manifest evil. It speaks of worlds coming out of star- 
dust, of worlds shattered into fragments and their materials scat- 
tered into space ; and in regard to our earth, of upheavals, of 
sinking of land, and the submergence of all living beings on it; of 
floods, of denudations, of volcanoes, of icebergs, and long periods 
of shivering cold. All these might not be evils, but then it speaks 
of what is and must be an evil — of the existence of pain. When 
living beings appear, it cannot tell how, it is obliged to speak of a 
struggle for existence, the stronger devouring the weaker, and 
innumerable diseases preying on the animal frame, of individuals 
dying, and races perishing from want of sustenance or amid over- 
whelming convulsions. When man appears, it cannot tell how, 
but on a scene evidently prepared for him, he carries the seeds of 
disease in his very person, and he has to suffer pain of body and 
torture of mind. Around him are storms to destroy and disap- 
pointments crossing his path, and within are selfishness and crav- 
ing lusts and repinings and passions, which war against each other, 
and war against the soul. 

True, there are in all these objects law and order and benefi- 



EVOLUTION. 669 

cence, obvious and pressing itself on the notice. Forces, blind in 
themselves, are made by their combination to produce the most 
perfect mathematical figures. Beauty appears everywhere — in sky 
and earth, in planet and plant. Every organ of the animal frame 
is good in itself, and liable to accomplish its evident purpose. 
There is order in star and sun and earth, but order coming out of 
disorder. It is beauty in flowers, in young man and maiden, 
coming out of dust and returning to dust ; we see it in that foliage, 
so beautiful even when it is fading; does not the father feel it when 
he commits the body of his son to the grave, " dust to dust, ashes 
to ashes"? Man has high aspirations, but it is only to feel how far 
he falls beneath them. All these are facts — quite as much so as 
the movement of the planets in elliptic orbits, as the laws of devel- 
opment in the vegetable and animal kingdoms. The proudest 
thinkers, as they are brought face to face with these facts, are 
obliged to acknowledge that they cannot discover a final cause in 
many of the most common agents of nature; as, for instance, in 
the derangement to which every organ of the frame is liable, and 
in the parasites which dwell in and feed on the bodies of all our 
noblest animals. The microscope shows us how exquisitely they 
are formed, but all to inflict the more excruciating pain. We may 
apologize for some of these things, but we cannot explain them, 
for instance, the existence of incurable sorrow and madness. 
Physiologists know that the organs of the body — the eye, the 
stomach, the liver, the brain — might have been so constructed as 
not to be liable to disease and pain, to which they are exposed, not 
by accident, but by their very nature and structure. Combined 
science, as it looks into the future, is obliged to tell us that the 
world and all that is therein shall first have its heat exhausted, 
and then, in the disintegration, shall be burned with fire ; and 
what is to be the new order of things which is to issue out of this 
elemental fire it cannot tell. 

Now this is, in fact, the sum of what science has been able to 
say about our world : Our cosmos rises out of dust, is formed into 
beautiful shapes by warring powers, becomes order and progressive 
order, and ends in dissolving heat. Our earth comes out of a 
cloud and ends in a conflagration. The highest being, as he enters 
it, makes known his presence by a cry, and ends his march through 
it in the grave. Surely in all this, while there is much in the evi- 
dent order and beneficence to elevate, there is not a little to awe 



670 EVOLUTION. 

and to humble us. The profoundest thinkers feel that they have 
come here to an unknown power behind and beneath all, and are 
impelled under a choking feeling to cry out, like the dying Goethe, 
for light, and for windows to be opened to let it in. 

Meanwhile, that other and higher law, the moral law — the law 
written on the heart — has something very important to utter, and 
it pronounces it in the name of God, the law-giver. It affirms of 
itself that it is unbending as stone, and yet finds that man has 
broken it. It points emphatically to a judgment to come — it can- 
not say where or when, but certain to come — as certain as that 
there is a law, an eternal law, and a God to guard it. The scene 
closes with each one placed before that bar to give an account of 
the deeds done in the body, whether they have been good, or 
whether they have been evil ; and there it leaves him, in the midst 
of the conflagration of worlds, with undying matter taking new 
shapes, and a soul — certainly as undying as that matter — ready to 
be consigned to its own place of light or of darkness. 

3. The Reconciliation. — Having taken a cursory glance at each 
of the sides of this rock- cut gallery, let us now look back upon the 
two. We see in a general way that there is a correspondence 
between them. In both we have moral law set forth — in the one 
by the conscience, in the other by the commands and prohibitions 
in Eden, by the tables of stone on Mount Sinai, and by the Sermon 
on the Mount in the New Testament. But there is this important 
difference: the one tells us that the law has been broken, and in 
proof points to the wickedness in the world, and the guilty remorse 
which agitates men's bosoms, but reveals no way by which the sin 
can be forgiven ; whereas the other, while it declares that sin has 
been committed, clearly makes known a way by which the sinner 
may be reconciled to God. Both reveal order in the world — the 
one as appointed by God; the other as discovered by man. In 
both we have progression in the divine workmanship, and the 
order, as Dr. Guyot has shown, is very much the same. 1 The 
Bible says that after man was made God rested from creation, and 
Dr. Dana assures us that since man appeared geology does not dis- 
close a single new species of plant or animal. It is surely a 
curious circumstance that this picture of the formation of our 
earth was drawn upward of three thousand years before geology 

1 Sec Evangelical Alliance Conference, 1873, p. 276. See also Dawson's 
" Nature and the Bible," Lect. III. 



EVOLUTION. 671 

started, and has continued unchanged amid the shiftings of science. 
The inspired record tells us, what anthropology confirms, that man 
has a twofold nature — a body formed out of the dust of the 
ground, and a spirit after the image of God breathed into him. 
Nor is there any contradiction as to chronology. For, first, 
geology has no clock to tell us the time — what it reveals is not 
absolute, but relative. It tells us that a certain epoch must have 
been before another epoch ; but its deductions are very uncertain 
as to how far back any one epoch — say the glacial epoch — carries 
us. These uncertainties have been increased by the discoveries 
lately made by Dr. Wyville Thomson and Dr. Carpenter of crea- 
tures now living in the deep seas which geologists, if they had 
found them as fossils, would at once have ascribed to a much ear- 
lier epoch. And as to Scripture, it contains no inspired chronology 
of early history ; what passes as such is drawn out of Bible geneal- 
ogies by fallible men, and drawn out of imperfect data, for Jewish 
scholars tell us that these genealogies were never understood as 
being complete ; and the genealogies, when summed up, give us, in 
the Hebrew text, 1656 years between the Creation and the Flood, 
whereas the Septuagint gives us 2262 years, and the Samaritan 
text only 1307 years. 

At this stage the scriptural record opens a new and strange 
phenomenon to appear in the universe of God : it furnishes a 
glimpse of an early rebellion ; for one comes on the scene to tempt 
the first human pair. At the corresponding period science gives 
intimations of a struggle in which we see warring elements, and a 
gradual evolution of planets and satellites, the sun consolidated 
into a centre, and capable of being seen from the earth ; and when 
living beings appear — science cannot tell how — we find animals 
devouring one another, the strong, with their terrible fangs and 
jaws, prevailing; the weak disappearing through disease and 
death, accompanied with brute passion and pain. History and 
biography come in to tell us how much of human activity has been 
spent in feuds among individual families and nations. Poetry, and 
at a later date romance, take up the theme, and they delineate the 
hopes and fears and passions of our nature, and our bosoms beat 
responsive to their descriptions. We feel that the Scriptures speak 
profoundly and truly when they say : " For the earnest expecta- 
tion of the creature (or creation) waiteth for the manifestation of 
the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, 



672 EVOLUTION. 

not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in 
hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the 
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God, for we know that the whole creation (creature) groaneth in 
pain together until now " (Rom. viii. 19, 22). The same apostle 
describes the internal struggle (Rom. vii. 14, 20) : " To will is 
present with me ; but how to perforin that which is good I find 
not." 

Our world is not what some describe it. It is uot what the 
rationalist would have it — a peaceful landscape, with nothing but 
order and beauty. It forces upon our observation scenes which 
the expounders of natural theology and your Unitarians, who, 
discarding inspiration, would fall back on natural religion, are 
unwilling to look at ; and the opponents of religion, natural and 
revealed, are right when they say that it is difficult or impossible 
to discover final cause in everything — in the liability of every 
member of the body to disease, in pain often amounting to anguish, 
in sorrow which refuses to be comforted, in despair issuing in 
suicide. The last of the great series of German speculators, who 
began with Leibnitz and was continued by Kant and Hegel, ter- 
minated with Schopenhauer and Hartmann, who have dwelt on 
the natural evils of terrible power and prevalence found every- 
where in the world ; and the speculative philosophy which began 
with optimism has ended with pessimism, audaciously avowed and 
gaining not a few followers. The great living speculator of Eng- 
land, belonging to a very different school — to that of observation — 
maintains that this world gives evidence of nothing beyond itself, 
except a great unknown out of which all things have come. Nor 
is our world what the sentimentalist dreams of, all sunshine and 
hope — all gratification and gayety. We live in a world where 
" day and night alternate ;" where the evening and the morning 
constitute the first day, and the second day, and so on ; where 
every man goes accompanied with his shadow, which he cannot 
leave behind nor overleap ; and every one, sooner or later, will 
have to taste of bereavements, ingratitude, ill usage, and carries 
within him a fire of fear, lust and envy, ready to burst into a con- 
flagration and burn up the soul, as fire is to burn up our world. 
Look now at this picture and now at that, and say whether they 
do not answer as face answereth to face in a glass, differing from 
each other only as one twin brother differeth from another. 



EVOLUTION. 673 

All that science has demonstrated, all that theism has argued, 
of the order, of the final cause and benevolent purpose in the 
world is true, and cannot be set aside. Every natural law — 
mechanical, chemical and vital — is good. Every organ of the 
body, when free from disease, is good. There is certainly the most 
exquisite adaptation in the eye, however we may account for its 
formation, and for the numerous diseases which seize upon it. 
Agassiz has shown, by an induction of facts reaching over the 
whole history of the animal kingdom, that there is plan in the 
succession of organic life. "It has the correspondence of connected 
plan. It is just that kind of resemblance in the parts — so much 
and no more — as always characterizes intellectual work proceeding 
from the same source. It has that freedom of manifestation, that 
independence, which characterizes the work of mind, as compared 
with the work of law. Sometimes in looking at the epos of 
organic life in its totality, carried on with such care and variety, 
and even playfulness of expression, one is reminded of the great 
conception of the poet or musician, where the undertone of the 
fundamental harmony is heard beneath all the diversity of rhythm 
or song." All this is true, but all this is not all the truth. What 
the older scientific men did not see ; what Newton did not see as he 
looked to the perfect order of the heavens ; what Cuvier did not 
see, when he dwelt so fondly on the teleology seen in every part of 
the animal structure ; what Paley did not see, when he pointed out 
the design in every bone, in every joint and muscle ; what Chal- 
mers did not see, when in his asotrnomical discourses he sought to 
reconcile the perfection of the heavens with the need of God's pro- 
viding a Saviour for men, — has been forced on our notice, as nat- 
uralists have been searching- into animal life, with its struggles and 
its sufferings. There is order in our world, but it is order subor- 
dinating conflicting powers. There is goodness, but goodness over- 
coming evil. There is progression, but progression like that of the 
ship on the ocean, amid winds and waves. There is the certainty 
of peace, but after a battle and a victory. There may be seen every- 
where an overruling power in bringing good out of evil ; so that 
Schopenhauer, in noticing the evil, has noticed only a part, and 
this only a subordinate part, of the whole ; and this to be ultimately 
swallowed up. 

While they have seen the phenomenon, these men have not 
known what to make of it. It is useless to tell the younger nat- 
44 



674 EVOLUTION. 

uralists that there is no truth in the doctrine of development, for 
they know that there is truth, which is not to be set aside by de- 
nunciation. Religious philosophers might be more profitably em- 
ployed in showing them the religious aspects of the doctrine of de- 
velopment; and some would be grateful to any who would help 
them to keep their old faith in God and the Bible with their new 
faith in science. But we must at the same time point out the 
necessary limits of the doctrine, and rebuke those unwise because 
conceited men who, when they have made a few observations in one 
department of physical nature, being commonly profoundly igno- 
rant of every other — particularly of mental and moral science — 
imagine that they can explain everything by the one law of evolu- 
tion. But there is a large and important body of facts which these 
hypotheses cannot cover. Development implies an original matter 
with high endowments. Whence the original matter? It is ac- 
knowledged, by its most eminent expounder, that evolution cannot 
account for the first appearance of life. Greatly to the disappoint- 
ment of some of his followers, Darwin is obliged to postulate three 
or four germs of life created by God. To explain the continuance 
of life, he is obliged to call in a pangenesis, or universal life, 
which is just a vague phrase for that inexplicable thing, life, and 
life is just a mode of God's action. Plants, the first life that ap- 
peared, have no sensation. How did sensation come in ? Whence 
animal instinct ? Whence affection — the affection of a mother for 
her offspring, of a patriot for his country, of a Christian for his 
Saviour ? Whence intelligence ? Whence discernment of duty as 
imperative ? It is felt by all students of mental science that Dar- 
win is weak when he seeks to account for these high ideas and sen- 
timents. Careful, as being so trained, in noticing the minutest pe- 
culiarities of plants and animals, and acquainted as he has made 
himself with the appetites and habits of animals, he seems utterly 
incapable of understanding man's higher capacities and noble as- 
pirations, of seeing how much is involved in consciousness, in per- 
sonal identity, in necessary truth, in unbending rectitude; he ex- 
plains them only by overlooking their essential peculiarities. It is 
allowed that geology does not show an unbroken descent of the 
lower animals from the higher ; on the contrary, it is ever coming 
to breaks, and, in the case of a number of tribes of the lower 
animals, the more highly organized forms appear first, and are 
followed by a degeneracy. It is acknowledged that in the histori- 



EVOLUTION. 675 

cal ages we do not see such new endowments coming in by natural 
law — the plant becoming animal, or the monkey becoming man. 
That matter should of itself develop into thought is a position 
which neither observation nor reason sanctions. Science gives no 
countenance to it. Common sense turns away from it. Philosophy 
declares that this would be an effect without a cause adequate to 
produce it. 

But these inquiries have brought us face to face with a remark- 
able body of facts. The known effects in the world — the order, 
beauty and beneficence — point to the nature and character of their 
cause ; and this not an unknown God, as Herbert Spencer main- 
tains, but a known God. " The invisible things of God from the 
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood from the 
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead." But 
in the very midst of the good there is evil : the good is shown in 
removing the evil, in relieving suffering, in solacing sorrow and 
conquering sin. Evil, properly speaking, cannot appear till there 
are animated beings, and as soon as sentient life appears there is 
pain, which is an evil. It does look as if in the midst of arrange- 
ments contrived with infinite skill there is some derangement. It 
may turn out that the Bible doctrine, so much ridiculed in the 
present day, of there being a Satan, an adversary, opposed to God 
and good, has a deep foundation in the nature of things, even as it 
has a confirmation in our experience without and within us, where 
we find that when we would do good evil is present with us. The 
old Persians had a glimpse of the truth, probably derived from a 
perverted tradition, and confirmed by felt experience, when they 
placed in the universe a power opposed to God ; but they mis- 
understood the truth when they made that power coeval and co- 
equal with God ; and the old Book, which some are regarding as 
antiquated, may be telling the exact truth when it tells us that sin 
is a rebellion to be subdued, and in the end everlastingly cast out. 
How curious, should it turn out that these scientific inquirers, so 
laboriously digging in the earth, have, all unknown to themselves, 
come upon the missing link which is partially to reconcile natural 
and revealed religion! Our English Titan is right when he says 
that at the basis of all phenomena we come to something unknown 
and unknowable. He would erect an altar to the unknown God, 
and Professor Huxley would have the worship paid there to be 



676 EVOLUTION. 

chiefly of the silent sort. But a Jew, born at Tarsus, no mean city 
in Greek philosophy, and brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, but 
subdued, on the road to Damascus, by a greater Teacher than any 
in Greece or Jewry, told the men of Athens, who had erected an 
altar to the unknown God, " Whom ye ignorantly worship, him I 
declare unto you." It does look as if later science had come in 
view of the darkness brooding on the face of the deep without 
knowing of the wind of the Spirit which is to dispel it, and divide 
the evil from the good, and issue in a spiritual creation, of which 
the first or natural creation was but a type. 

We do not as yet see all things reconciled between these two 
sides — the side of Scripture and the side of science. But we see 
enough to satisfy us that the two correspond. It is the same world, 
seen under different aspects. We see in both the most skillful ar- 
rangement ; we are told in both of some derangement. Both re- 
veal a known God ; both bring us to an unknown source of evil. 
But with the sameness there is a difference. The relation is not 
one of identity, but of correspondence ; like that of the earth to 
the concave sky by which it is canopied ; like that of the move- 
ment of the dial on earth to that of the sun in heaven. On this 
side is a wail from the deepest heart of the sufferer ; on that side 
there is consolation from the deepest heart of a comforter. On the 
one side is a cry like that of the young bird when it feels that it 
has wandered from its dam ; on the other, a call like that of a 
mother bird, as you may hear her in the evening, to bring her 
wandering ones under her wings. You may notice on that side 
a bier, with a corpse laid out upon it of a youth, the only son 
of his mother, and she a widow ; on that other side the same pic- 
ture, but with one touching the bier, and the dead arises and is in 
the embraces of his mother. On this side you see a sepulchre, and 
all men in the end consigned to it, and none coming out of it ; on 
the other side you see the great stone rolled away, and hear a voice : 
" He is not here ; he is risen." The grand reconciliation is effected 
by that central figure standing in the middle of the ages, by Him 
who has "made peace through the blood of his- cross, by Him to 
reconcile all things unto himself, by Him, I say, whether they be 
things on earth or things in heaven." 

We have been able to take only a very cursory glance at the in- 
scriptions on the wall of this temple. It is the aim of all learning, 



EVOLUTION. 677 

sacred and secular, to enable us to read and comprehend them. 
The superscription over the central figure was in letters of Greek 
and Latin and Hebrew, that the people of all countries may read 
it, and that we may proclaim it in every language. In the great 
contest going on without and within, every man must be on the one 
side or the other ; let us see that we be on the right side. 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 



The Bible is the book for all nations and for all time. It is the 
mirror of all minds and the searcher of all hearts. It attracts the 
child with the charm of simplicity, and it fascinates the philosopher 
with the depths of mystery. It is the most human of all books 
when it speaks for earth and man. It is the most divine of all 
books when it speaks for heaven and God. It brings the human 
and divine into perfect harmony by making man the child of God 
and earth the vestibule of heaven. 

The Bible gives the best history of the dark ages of the past, 
and the best hope that brighter ages will come in the future. It 
describes all conditions of life, and it gives utterance to all emo- 
tions of the soul. It compasses the utmost range of thought and 
feeling and desire, and it sounds the utmost depths of motive and 
character and passion. It has a text for every theme, a lesson for 
every learner, and a word for the want of every hour. It has a 
song of triumph for the victor and a wail of defeat for the van- 
quished. It is bright with the hope and gladness of youth. It 
celebrates the strength and glory of manhood. It bewails the sor- 
rows and infirmities of age. It exults in the deeds of kings and 
conquerors. It sympathizes with the poor and the lowly, it lifts up 
the fallen, it delivers the oppressed, it breathes the blessing of 
peace upon the quiet homes of domestic life. 

The composition of the Bible was extended through a long course 
of years, it was carried on under a great variety of circumstances ; 
it bears the impress of every diversity of individual character. 
All seasons of the year, all fruits of forest and field, all aspects of 
earth and sky, all occupations of men and all forms of animal life 
are wrought into the drapery of the divine word to make the 
revelation true to God and attractive to man. It makes every- 
thing speak for God and everything work for man. So the Bible 
is fitted to be the one book for all time and all nations, for all classes 

679 



680 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

of men and all states of society, for all capacities of mind and all 
necessities of the soul. 

The Bible has a spiritual life and a material form, a heavenly- 
birth and an earthly growth, a divine inspiration and a human 
composition. Everything connected with its origin is interesting, 
and it is made clearer by everything which throws light upon the 
lands where it was written. The glory and the desolation, the 
science and the superstition, the monuments and the mystery of 
the ancient East, are all witnesses for the Book which outlives all 
revolutions, stands firm amid all changes and grows strong with 
the increase of years. 

Palestine is the holy land for all the world ; and it will be visited 
by devout pilgrims from the ends of the earth for all time because 
it is the land of which the Bible has most to say, and it was the 
home of the sainted men whose name and deeds adorn the sacred 
page. Palestine and the Bible are as the stamped clay to the seal 
and the printed page to the type ; one answers to the other as face 
to face in water. The Book illustrates the land, and the land 
illustrates the Book. Reading the Book, we long to see the land. 
Visiting the land, we come back with fresh interest to the Book. 

The pathway that hangs on the hillsides and winds through the 
valleys ; the wells where the flocks wait for water when they come 
from the fields, and the fountains whose murmurs are mingled with 
the voices of village maidens morning and evening ; the torrents 
that tear up the earth and undermine the mud-built house after a 
sudden shower ; the sower scattering seed upon the ground, and the 
fowls of the air following his steps to devour it up; the drought 
that makes the sky a dome of brass and gives powder and dust for 
rain ; the shepherd traversing the waste places of the wilderness in 
search of some wanderer from the fold, or standing in the midst of 
his flock and separating the sheep from the goats as they go out to 
pasturage ; the ploughman carrying an ox-goad like a spear, and 
so intent upon guiding his rude share that he cannot turn to look 
back ; the watchman sitting in his booth of brushwood to scare away 
the birds from the field, and the vintagers singing and shouting as 
they tread out the grapes, — all these scenes and occupations pass 
before the eye of the traveler in the Holy Land as pictures to 
illustrate the sacred page, and to carry him back to the time when 
the Book was written. 

The more accurately we become acquainted with the people and 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 681 

the productions, the climate and the seasons, the flowers and the 
fruit, the beasts and the birds, the natural features and the ancient 
ruins of the Holy Land, the more we find to confirm the truth of 
the Holy Book and to give life and reality to the sacred story. 
When we traverse the country through its utmost extent, we seem 
to be carried back to the times of old, and we live with the men 
and in the midst of the scenes that we learned to name with re- 
ligious reverence in childhood. We have prophets for our teach- 
ers, and patriarchs for our companions. We speak with angels 
under the oaks in Mamre, and we sit with the Son of God by the 
wellside at Sychar. We drink from fountains where Moses and 
Elijah and the mother of Jesus quenched their thirst, and we re- 
pose in the shadow of a great rock where the tribes wandered in 
the weary land. We behold the lilies in the valley and the rose 
on the plain of Sharon, and a divine voice whispers in the wind of 
the morning that never were mightiest kings arrayed like one of 
these. We go out at night to gaze at the heavens when the stars 
are forth in their glory, and the shepherd of Bethlehem breaks 
into song to tell us who marshals the fiery host on the fields of 
light. We climb the rocky pass of Beth-horon ; and when we reach 
the rounded height of Gibeon, a storm comes up out of the sea, 
and wild, swirling clouds sweep low between the hills like the ban- 
ners of marching hosts, and the earth shakes with thunder as if a 
thousand chariots were rushing to battle. And then, instead of 
rain, comes the rattling hail, and in the voices of the tempest we 
hear the shout of the tribes of Israel as they drive the Canaanites 
down the pass, and the hailstones smite more than the spears of 
the pursuing host. 

Persons of devout and imaginative minds are apt to see all that 
they are looking for when traveling in the Holy Land ; and when 
they come home, distance lends a sacred enchantment to the mem- 
ories of the past, and then they see more in the retrospect than 
they ever saw in the reality of personal observation. Thus, after 
a few weeks of travel among the scenes of sacred story, they are 
apt to say that the Bible has become to them a new book, full of 
meaning and beauty that they never saw in it before. The same 
truths are indeed there, the same lessons of wisdom, ever old be- 
cause they come from God, and ever new because they speak to the 
living of every age. But the drapery of the divine Book takes 
color and form and beauty, the characters become real persons, 



682 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL EN BIBLE LANDS. 

and the actual places pass before the mind's eye the moment they 
are named to those who have trodden the holy fields with a rever- 
ent step, and looked up to the Eastern heavens at night with a de- 
vout mind ; to them there is such a halo of sanctity resting upon 
the whole country that they eannot discuss and doubt and question 
and criticise as they would in other lands. 

Hence, it has come to pass that we have many books of pleasant 
and pious reading about Palestine, but very few that give the re- 
sults of patient research and careful observation. Most travelers 
have passed through the Bible lands as pilgrims and worshipers 
rather than as students and investigators. They have made the 
pilgrimage to gratify the reverence and the sacred longing of many 
years, and they have not paused to test the hallowed illusions of 
early days by the rules of rigid investigation. Their month of 
travel in the Holy Laud has been a thirty days' devotion which 
they would not willingly mar by sharp discussions about ancient 
sites and modern traditions. They have gone out to Bethany, and 
descended into the grotto at Bethlehem, and climbed the hill over 
Nazareth, and walked the beach of Tiberias, to meditate rather 
than to criticise and to inquire. 

When their books are written with the glow of enthusiasm and 
the fervor of devotion, we read them with much of the sacred 
pleasure which the writers enjoyed in. their journeys. I had read 
many such volumes long before I visited the scenes which they de- 
scribe ; and I now read them with, still greater interest siuce the 
pathways of the desert and the hillsides of the Holy Land have 
been graven upon my memory with the clearness of the first im- 
pressions of childhood. 

Still, we cannot always give ourselves to the lead of fancy or the 
impulses of devotion ; and especially in so grave a matter as the 
study of divine revelation we must have rigid fact, severe criticism, 
patient investigation. If careful inquiry compels us to give up 
many of the " holy places" of tradition, it will make the few that 
are well ascertained more sacred and more suggestive than a thou- 
sand that existed only in faith or fiction. The Bible needs no help 
from pious fraud or ignorant devotion. Its divine origin and in- 
finite worth are best seen when set in the strongest light. The 
Author of the Holy Book is the Maker of the Holy Land. His 
work in both must be consistent with itself. The more we know 
about the land, the better we shall understand the Book : and the 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 683 

more highly we prize the Book, the more interested we shall be in 
every effort to search the land. 

While all this is true, we must confess, with mingled surprise and 
shame, that the first movement toward a thorough scientific survey 
of Palestine is of very recent date. A vast amount of money and 
labor has been expended in exploring the ruins of Egypt and 
Babylon and Nineveh, Carthage and Ephesus and Troy, Athens 
and Pompeii and Rome. Great reputations have been acquired 
by the display of courage and hardihood in traversing countries 
that have no history, and nothing to tell us concerning questions 
of the greatest interest to the human race. The most costly ap- 
paratus has been provided and the most cultivated men employed 
at government expense for the survey of coasts and rivers and 
mountains. The sea has been sounded, and burning deserts have 
been traversed, and icy peaks have been climbed, and strong-built 
ships have been thrust in among the freezing horrors of the arctic 
zone, just to find an answer to one or two questions in geography. 

This is all well, and it were better that more rather than less 
should be done to make the human family fully acquainted with 
every acre of land and water in its great possession of the globe ; 
and yet it is passing strange that this spirit of modern research 
should so long have neglected the sacred land where its own fire 
was first kindled. From Palestine came the divine impulse which 
is now carrying all Christian nations forward toward the full posses- 
sion of all the riches of the earth, and to the highest attainments 
in knowledge and spiritual culture ; and yet, of all the lands of 
the ancient East, Palestine is the last to be searched and surveyed 
with scientific accuracy. 

We have had maps of the country in great numbers. The out- 
lines, natural features and comparative positions of a few well-known 
towns have been given with substantial correctness, and these im- 
perfect maps have given great interest to the study of the sacred 
records ; and yet they were all made up from mere impressions, 
momentary observations taken by travelers with pocket compass, 
or by a glance at the sun in passing hastily through the land. 
Within the memory of persons still young, not one square mile 
of the Holy Land had been surveyed with scientific accuracy, not 
one spot had been determined in latitude and longitude by inde- 
pendent observations taken on the ground. No base line had been 
laid down for a survey, no system of triangulation instituted, no 



684 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

competent engineer had been employed with time and instruments 
and assistants at command to do the work in the best manner. 

The most sacred land on the face of all the earth, the land for 
the possession of which millions have sacrificed their lives, the land 
whose history and traditions and association have the strongest hold 
upon the heart of the most cultivated nations, the land whose hills 
and streams and mountains have been wrought into poetry and 
prayer, whose homes have been visited by angels, whose paths have 
been trodden by the Son of God, whose capital city is the symbol 
of heaven, — this land has been wrapped in mystery while the light 
which it sent forth to the ends of the earth has been growing in 
brightness for eighteen hundred years. 

The work of exploration has at last begun in earnest, and with 
the good hope that it will not cease till every square mile is traversed 
and mapped, every ancient site, so far as possible, is identified, every 
relic, inscription and monument which can throw light upon the 
Scriptures is subjected to the most rigid and intelligent examina- 
tion. 

The earliest and most reliable authority concerning Palestine, 
aside from the Bible, is the Jewish historian, soldier and scholar 
Josephus. He was born in Jerusalem four years after the cruci- 
fixion of Christ. He was thoroughly educated in all departments 
of Hebrew learning, and he displayed great courage and capacity 
as a general when entrusted with the military defence of Galilee. 
Overcome at last by superior force, he surrendered to the Komaus, 
and he was held prisoner by them till they completed the conquest 
of the country. He was present during the final siege of Jerusalem, 
and he saw its capture and its utter destruction by Titus. 

During his eventful life Josephus had occasion to traverse the 
country again and again, and to make himself minutely and accu- 
rately acquainted with its most sacred localities. He wrote at great 
length concerning the history of his native land, the customs and 
opinions of his people, and their ultimate dispersion among the 
nations. If we overlook his enormous self-conceit, his childish ex- 
aggeration in description and in numerical statement, and his servile 
flattery of his conquerors, we shall find him one of the most inter- 
esting of all ancient writers. Certainly he tells us more about 
Palestine than can be learned from all other ancient sources taken 
together except the Bible. 

There is a rude map or table of roads and distances in the 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 685 

Roman empire, supposed to have been made at the close of the 
fourth century. This is of some service in identifying a few an- 
cient sites in Palestine. Various Christian pilgrims, visiting the 
Holy Land from the fourth to the fifteenth century, made notes 
of their journeys. They give a few facts concerning the condition 
of the country as they saw it ; but their facts are mingled with 
many fables and superstitions. Mohammedan writers have added 
a little to the information derived from Christian sources. 

The time is within the remembrance of men now living when 
travelers first began to go through Palestine for the express pur- 
pose of critical inquiry and careful observation. Dr. Edward 
Robinson of New York visited the Bible lands for the first time 
thirty-seven years ago. He made his second journey fourteen 
years later. He had given his life to biblical studies in this coun- 
try and in Germany. For fifteen years he had been making special 
preparation for his first journey. 

Dr. Robinson began his researches with the determination to 
separate fact from fable, history from tradition. He would tell 
the Christian w T orld in the plainest terms how much can be known 
about places that bear sacred names, and about other places named 
in sacred story, but not yet found in the land. He devoted his 
great learning, his strong frame and his stronger will to the sacred 
task of building up a biblical geography out of materials gathered 
from accurate survey and personal observation. 

In both journeys Robinson had the company and the assistance 
of American missionaries who were equal with him in accuracy of 
judgment and in devotion to the truth, and who had the rare ad- 
vantage of perfect acquaintance with the language and the people 
from long residence in the country. He did not live to complete 
the work which he began ; but no traveler before or since his time 
has equaled him in fullness of preparation for his work, and in ex- 
act, profound and painstaking research. To him is the Christian 
world indebted for the first impulse toward a thorough scientific 
survey of the Holy Land. 

The countrymen of Robinson have done much to carry on the 
work which he so well begun. Thomson's "Land and the Book" 
is equal in accuracy with the more elaborate "Researches," and it 
is the counterpart of Robinson's work in grace of manner and 
elegance of composition. We have volumes, journals and articles 
of great value from Lynch, Hackett, Wolcott, Barclay, Osborne 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

and others. Among English works, Wilson's "Lands of the 
Bible," Williams' " Holy City," Stanley's " Sinai and Palestine," 
Tristam's "Land of Israel" and Porter's "Hand-book for Syria 
and Palestine" are worthy of especial mention as valuable con- 
tributions to sacred geography. 

To the English must be given the credit of forming the first 
society and entering upon the systematic work of raising funds 
for a full, minute and scientific survey and exploration of the 
Holy Land. This was done ten years ago ; and now a similar 
American society is organized and acting in co-operation with the 
English survey. The land is divided between the two, the English 
taking the west side of the Jordan and the Americans the east. 
The English are already far advanced in their work. When both 
societies have finished the task they have undertaken, each will 
share the fruit of the other's labors. They will jointly issue a map 
of the whole country on the scale of an inch to the mile. 

The map will exhibit to the eye every ancient road, bridle-path 
and ruin ; every noticeable hill, valley and pass ; every plain, brook, 
forest and fountain ; every ancient well, historic site and biblical 
name, that can be identified with reasonable certainty. The survey 
is in the hands of professional engineers of unquestionable com- 
petency. They have the use of the most approved and costly in- 
struments. They proceed upon the same methods of observation 
which are adopted in the most accurate surveys of coast and coun- 
try in England and America. When they have done their work 
and published the result to the world, we shall have the first full 
and accurate map of Palestine. With that map in hand, the 
traveler will know better where to go and what to see than he 
can now learn from the best native dragoman in Syria. 

The expeditions are accompanied by men of science who are 
intent upon subjecting the Holy Land and everything in it to the 
most rigid and exhaustive investigation. They hold themselves 
responsible to the Christian world for a full and fair report con- 
cerning everything that can throw light on the sacred page. They 
will decipher ancient inscriptions, trace out architectural ruins, 
observe geological formations, collect and describe plants, birds, 
animals, fishes, record the changes of temperature, and study all 
the varied aspects of nature. They make the country their home 
in all months of the year, and their whole occupation is to see and 
learn and describe everything that will make the land better known 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 687 

to the Christian world. Surely every reader of the Bible must 
wish them success in their severe and perilous undertaking. 

Recent exploration in the Bible lands has already done much to 
increase our store of knowledge, and to give clearness and con- 
sistency to what we knew before. Beginning at the south, the re- 
gion from Suez to Sinai has been accurately surveyed and mapped. 
It has been settled beyond a reasonable doubt that the rugged 
congeries of rocky heights facing the great curved plain Er Rahah 
was the scene of the giving of the law as described by Moses. 

The wells of Abraham have been identified at Beersheba, and 
some advance made toward an examination of the reputed burial- 
place of the patriarch under the mosque at Hebron. Moriah, rather 
than Gerizim, is s,till accepted as the scene of the offering of Isaac. 

Excavations of great depth, attended with great toil and oppo- 
sition, have been made in and about Jerusalem. The foundation 
stones of the temple area have been found buried in banks of rub- 
bish from fifty to a hundred feet deep. The builder's mark in red 
paint could in some cases be still traced, just as they were placed in 
Solomon's time. Vast cisterns for water have been found cut in 
the rock beneath where the temple stood. The base of arches 
supporting the bridge on which Solomon passed over from Zion to 
the house of the Lord has been found eighty feet below the bed of 
the present street. 

A stone pillar has been discovered with a Greek inscription, 
showing that it was set up to mark the limit beyond which none 
but Jews might approach toward the holy place. Quarries be- 
neath the city have been explored and cuttings have been traced 
in the rock, just as they were left incomplete by builders in the 
days of Solomon and Herod. Something has been done toward 
determining the course of the ancient walls and aqueducts, the form 
of the valleys in and around the city, the structure of houses, and 
the solidity of the work done in the olden time. 

Seven years ago a written stone was discovered at Dibon, in the 
land of Moab. The inscription is made in the same characters 
which David used when he kept sheep on the hills of Bethlehem 
and wrote the twenty-third Psalm with the mountains of Moab in 
sight. The record, though much mutilated, has been deciphered, 
and it is a most explicit and remarkable confirmation of the record 
which we have in the second book of the Kings. It is believed 
that the stone was inscribed near nine hundred years before Christ. 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

The third statement of the American Exploration Society con- 
tains a full and elaborate identification of Mount Pisgah, whence 
Moses saw the land which he was not permitted to possess. The 
territory about Pisgah has been explored, and a base-line laid down 
for the survey of the whole region east of the Jordan. 

The mound that bears the name of ancient Jericho has been 
excavated and found to be a heap of ruins. I have entered the 
trenches made in the mound, and have seen the mud-brick built 
into the walls of houses that fell in the fall of the city. The shores 
of the Sea of Galilee have been explored with renewed zeal and 
fidelity, and the sites of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida made 
more clear. The sudden storms of wind that come down upon the 
lake have been described and much information gathered to illus- 
trate the scene of our Lord's miracles on the sea and the land. 

This work of exploration requires great courage, endurance and 
perseverance on the part of the noble and highly-cultivated men 
who have undertaken to carry it on. It costs great toil and fatigue, 
and it has already resulted in the loss of several precious lives. 
But it advances step by step toward a result in which the whole 
Christian world will rejoice. When the survey is complete, and 
the whole land, with all its productions and possessions, has been 
explored, the men who did the work will be honored as instructors 
and benefactors by all who believe that the Bible is the Book of 
God. 

The land to be surveyed is not large. In this respect it is like 
all other lands that have done most to give life and law to the 
world. Egypt is only a little triangle of green meadows at the 
mouth of the Nile, and a double bank of mud made by the over- 
flow of the river where it creeps like a slimy serpent in its crooked 
course across the sandy desert. Standing on a housetop anywhere 
between Cairo and the cataracts, one sees at a single glance the 
whole breadth of the mighty kingdom whose temples and monu- 
ments were already old when the history of the Hebrew people 
began. Standing on the Acropolis at Athens, one surveys the 
whole extent of country that gave letters and art and philosophy 
to all schools and universities in the most cultivated nations for 
two thousand years. England is only a little patch of earth pushed 
out into the cold North Sea, and separated from Europe by «a 
channel of angry waters worse to cross than the ocean. And yet 
the life and thought and power of England have encompassed the 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 689 

globe, and upon the universal diffusion of her language and litera- 
ture rest the best hopes of mankind. Palestine is only a narrow 
slip of land cut off from the great continent of Asia by a gorge a 
thousand feet deep and backed by barren mountains and burning 
deserts. It is so small that one can see the whole extent of its his- 
toric ground from the top of a hundred hills. And yet that little 
land, so insignificant that the great monarchies of the East scarcely 
named it in their annals, has given the best philosophy to the 
schools, the best hope to the heart and the best life to the world. 

Palestine was called the Holy Land by the ancient prophets of 
Israel and by the devout pilgrims from other lands in a later age. 
It was consecrated by the faith and sacrifices of holy men of old 
and by the divine tragedy of the cross. It has been the highway 
of armies and the battle-field of nations for more than three thou- 
sand years. It has passed through all extremes of glory and of 
desolation. It has been cultivated like a garden and crowded with 
millions of inhabitants. And it has been overgrown with thorns 
and thickets, and given up to become the range of ravenous beasts 
and the haunts of unclean birds. 

Wherever the traveler directs his steps through its whole extent, 
he finds himself surrounded with ruins. Broken-down terraces, 
abandoned wells and cisterns, empty tombs, fragments of pottery, 
sculptured stones, blocks of pavement, mounds of ashes, deeply-worn 
foot-paths, deserted fortresses, subterranean galleries, outlines of 
wall-girt cities, are silent witnesses to the number and greatness of 
the people that have made this land their home. It has passed 
under the rule and the ruin of ten generations of conquerors, and 
every sculptured stone and broken wall is a monument to some one 
of the ten. Exploring among these successive layers of ruins, from 
the Saracen back to the Canaanite, is like reading the old Hebrew 
Book backward, and every sentence wrought out from stone or pit 
or wall throws light upon the story of the past and the destiny of 
the future. 

The portion of the Holy Land which was the scene of the prin- 
cipal events in sacred story is not larger than the State of Connect- 
icut. The whole territory included in the more extended use of 
the name Palestine, embracing both sides of the Jordan, is less than 
half as large as the State of New York. And small as is the 
country ordinarily visited by the traveler, it seems to him less than 
it really is, because in passing from place to place he comes out 
45 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

upon so many heights where its whole extent lies within the range 
of his eye. 

The sea on the west and the white wall of the Moab mountains 
and the highlands of Bashan on the east, seen through the clear air, 
look as if they could be reached in an hour's ride from the central 
ridge. And when the air is not clear, the illusion is often more 
complete. The first time I looked toward the wilderness through 
a notch in the hills below Jerusalem there was a blue haze hauging 
over the whole landscape. And it seemed to me that the heights 
beyond the Dead Sea were only just behind the ridge of Olivet, 
and that the shout of a strong voice might be heard from one to 
the other. Standing on the heights of Gerizim and Bethel and 
Mizpeh, and looking northward and southward from Hebron to the 
hills of Galilee, I was many times impelled to exclaim, Can this be 
the whole extent of the land that was once so great among the 
nations, and whose story has gone out to the uttermost parts of the 
earth ? 

The first feature which arrests the attention of the American 
traveler on approaching Jerusalem from the west or south is the 
bare, brown aspect of the whole country. No forests, no green 
fields, no winding streams, no grassy meadows, no woods or foot- 
paths bordered by rows of trees, no pleasant cottages on the hillsides 
or in the valleys surrounded by gardens and shrubberies, no car- 
riages whirling along smooth highways, no groups of happy children 
shouting and singing at play, no pretty villages embowered in green, 
none of the ordinary signs of peace and prosperity which arrest the 
attention of the traveler in the older portions of our own country. 

The soil of Palestine has the color of iron rust, the rocks are of a 
dull, ashen gray, as if burnt by internal fires or blistered in the 
sun ; the olive trees are nearly as gray as the rocks. The bare 
round hills are built up of limestone ledges that rise one above 
another like the galleries of an amphitheatre. The beds of the nar- 
row valleys are torn up by winter torrents, and left bare and 
bleaching in the fierce light all summer long. The steep hillsides 
are washed and worn down by rain, or terraced so that the traveler 
looking up from below only sees the bare walls of rugged stones. 

The approach to towns must be made over a rampart of rubbish 
that has been accumulating for ages. The mound of filth and 
ashes is guarded by wild, wolfish dogs and lean, long-eared donkeys. 
It is the favorite playground of children that look as wild a> the 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 691 

dogs and as hungry as the donkeys. At the appearance of a 
stranger the dogs howl and the children scream and the donkeys 
bray, and soon the whole population is out on heaps and house-tops 
to see what is coming. The town is only a huddle of rude cabins 
made of mud and stones, and looking in the distance so much like 
the bare hills and the brown earth out of which it is built that one 
needs a practiced eye to see any town at all. The streets are 
always crooked, and often so narrow that the footman must turn 
back when he meets a loaded camel, or stoop and let the ungainly 
beast swing his burden over him. The rooms in the houses are 
cheerless and dark. Among the villagers the accommodations for 
man and beast are so nearly alike that I have mistaken one for the 
other. The traveler who takes lodgings with the people will find 
himself and horse sheltered in the same room with half a dozen 
Arabs and two or three dozen cattle, sheep and goats to keep him 
company for the night. 

The valleys that lie low down between the naked hills are some- 
times planted with the fig and the olive, both of w 7 hich have a 
strange propensity to assume gnarled, twisted and crooked forms 
as if bent and burdened with the bare weight of existence in such 
a dry and stony land. The peasants in planting set three olive 
sticks in the ground and twist them together for mutual support. 
But when they grow up into trees, they look as if they were wrest- 
ling together for the possession of the ground, or they suggest the 
group of Laocoon and his sons strangled and agonizing in the 
folds of the serpents. 

The cultivated trees never stand in rows or regular forms of any 
kind. If there is any fence, it is either a ragged wall that never 
runs a rod in a straight line, or it is a hedge of cactus set with 
spines and having so many crooks and corners that the rider must 
watch both sides of the path at every turn to avoid running upon a 
bristling phalanx of living spears. The fruit-bearing trees increase 
the feeling of loneliness and desolation in the traveler as he passes 
along, because there are seldom any houses in sight, and the appear- 
ance of cultivation suggests the thought that the inhabitants have 
fled to some stronghold for safety, their houses have been burned 
down and only a few olive trees left standing to show that anybody 
ever lived there. 

The peasants scratch the ground lightly in the hollows among 
the hills and scatter their seed, and then flee away to their distant 



692 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

homes. When the harvest comes, they return and gather up the 
grain, tread it out upon the bare ground, and flee again with their 
plunder as if they were foragers in an enemy's country. I have 
many times ridden through the half-grown wheat when there was 
not a sign of a habitation or a human being in sight, and the whole 
country around was as desolate as if an invading army had swept 
through and had carried away all the people captive. Once in a 
great while a native may be seen coming in the distance, and he is 
always armed with some kind of weapon — a spear or a club or an 
ox-goad — and he is upon the lookout for enemies, as if he alone had 
escaped the terrible invasion and were stealing back to see what 
had been left of his home. 

One can hardly be blamed for carrying a look of distrust and 
suspicion in such a land as Palestine. The aspect of loneliness and 
desolation which rests upon the whole country is not that of the 
desert, the mountains, the forest or the sea. In the wilds of nature 
one has a feeling of safety and of satisfaction that the hand of vio- 
lence and of wrong has never reached these solitudes. But in pass- 
ing through the waste places of Palestine one is always thinking of 
the thousands that were once there and are now gone, of the homes 
and gardens and fields that were once full of life and are now silent 
as the habitations of the dead. Everywhere he sees the signs of 
violence and desolation, and he soon acquires a habit of keeping 
himself upon the watch against danger, as if he were a spy in a hos- 
tile country. 

The empty cisterns and grain-pits where now there is no sign of 
inhabitants, the hillsides cut into tombs where there is no city, the 
caves with ashes on the floor and smoke-stains on the roof, showing 
that they have been hiding-places of fugitives and robbers, the 
pathways worn deep into the rocks where now neither man nor 
beast ever passes, the mounds of earth which, when explored, prove 
to be heaps of ruined houses, the wells cut a hundred feet through 
solid rock where now the people use a stone for a hammer and have 
never seen a drill in their lifetime, the remains of broken pavements 
and broad highways in a land where the sound of carriage-wheels is 
never heard, the vast stones cut out of the quarry and carried long 
distances for building where now nobody moves anything heavier 
than a load for a mule's back,— all these strange things suggest vio- 
lence and robbery and desolation. And the traveler soon comes to 
feel that the land itself has a look of threatening and of danger. 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 693 

This dreary and depressing aspect of the Holy Land is nowhere 
so evident as at Jerusalem. Standing upon the ridge of Olivet and 
looking down upon the city, one sees no reason why it should be 
there, or what there can be in the whole surrounding region to sup- 
port it. North, south and west the country looks bare and deso- 
late, nearly of the same color with the rubbish and ash-heaps that 
lie about the walls. Eastward the stony wilderness of Judea rolls 
down in wild naked hills and waterless ravines to the bed of the 
Jordan and the deep grave of the Dead Sea. The rocky platform 
of the ancient temple, comprising one-sixth of the space within the 
walls, is mainly occupied by one great mosque, which looks better 
fitted for a tomb than a temple. There are many waste places 
elsewhere in the city, small as it is, and the crooked streets and gray 
stone houses have no grace in form or color to attract the eye. The 
camels coming out of the eastern gate are the most ungainly crea- 
tures that walk the earth, and their Arab riders, dressed in rags 
that are never washed, are the fit companions of the beasts. The 
mule-trains climbing up out of the Kedron look as if they had been 
kicked and cudgeled till they had no sensibility left except when 
they repay the kicks of their masters in the same kind. The noises 
that are heard are loud, harsh and angry : the barking of dogs is 
frightful ; the cry of jackals makes the night hideous. 

These things arrest the attention and sadden the mind of the 
traveler when he first arrives in Jerusalem, and when making his 
first few days of journey in the Holy Land. The mode of travel- 
ing is wearisome and attended with many delays and discomforts. 
The time that one would give to quiet meditation is often intruded 
upon by petty annoyances and provoking interruptions. The heat 
of the day and the chill of the night keep the vital powers upon a 
severe strain, and greatly impair the elasticity of spirit and limb 
which one has most need of when far from friends and home ; and 
so, to the tired traveler newly arrived at the Holy City, the whole 
land often seems to be wrapped in gloom. 

But the feeling of sadness and disappointment soon gives place 
to the calm, deep conviction that this at last is the Holy Land — 
the land whose sacred memories have touched the hearts of mil- 
lions and kindled the fires of faith and love in the uttermost parts 
of the earth ; and then the very dust of her ruined cities and the 
loneliness of her deserted fields become precious in his sight. He 
sees in them all the sacredness of sorrow and the beauty of deso- 



694 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

lation. He would not change the aspect of the land if he could. 
He thinks it is a wise and a kind providence that has kept it un- 
changed for ages that it may give its silent and sad testimony to 
the divine Word. He dreads the coming of the day when the 
thunder of the railway train shall shake the hills of Judea, steam- 
boat excursions shall be advertised for the Sea of Galilee, and the 
smoke of manufactories shall cloud the heavens where Elijah kin- 
dled the evening sacrifice on the slope of Carmel. 

After the first feeling of depression and disappointment has worn 
off, everything in the Holy Land is interesting and instructive to 
the Christian traveler. The flowers that bloom everywhere appear 
more brilliant in their glorious beauty because they grow among 
dull, gray rocks and they spring up out of the bare, brown earth. 
The bright little birds that rise before the sun and fill the morn- 
ing air with music sing the more sweetly because the land seems 
so sad, and the gloom by contrast brings out the gladness of the 
song. When I saw the light-limbed gazelles skimming along the 
stony billows of the desert like the stormy petrel at sea, leaping 
over the tops of the tall reeds in the vale of Esdraelon, bounding 
up the steep hillsides in Northern Galilee, I thought the whole 
landscape was cheered and brightened by that graceful embodi- 
ment of life and joy. I have never seen the half-green wheat 
appear so fresh and green as it did when contrasted with the 
brown earth and limestone ledges about Jerusalem and Bethlehem 
and Hebron. Even the ancient olive and the dark-leaved fig and 
the black vines just budding appear beautiful when mingled with 
the glistening orange and lemon and the blazing oleander and the 
brown pomegranate in the sunny nooks among the Galilean hills. 

All the aspects of nature and all the occupations of men in 
Palestine become intensely interesting when they call up the 
language of the Holy Word, and they carry us back to the times 
of Abraham and David and the evangelists. We forget all the 
weariness, the annoyance and the discomfort of travel, and we 
make every day's journey an act of worship and thanksgiving. 
We pass from hill to hill and from fountain to fountain along the 
same paths that the patriarchs trod, and we pitch our tents beside 
the same wells from which they watered their flocks. We cross 
the battle-plain of great armies, and we climb the high places 
where kings were slain and the shield of the mighty was thrown 
away. We rest in the quiet vale where the Son of God was hidden 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 695 

from the world thirty years. We walk along the lakeside where 
he healed the sick and fed the hungry and spoke the word of life. 
We rest on the slope of Olivet, and are sure that within the range 
of the eye is the scene of his agony, the place of his cross and the 
rock of his tomb ; and when we come home, the memory of travel 
in that land seems like a sacred dream, a season of rapture in 
which the things of earth and heaven were so blended and beauti- 
fied together that we can only say with the wondering disciples on 
the sacred mount, " It was good to be there." Thenceforth we 
read the Holy Book in the light of the Holy Land, and one bears 
witness to the other and both speak for God. 

If now we sum up all that has been learned, first and last, in the 
Bible lands to illustrate and confirm the sacred record, we shall 
find the testimony full and true. We can give only a few of the 
leading facts derived from the history and the antiquities of coun- 
tries which are most frequently mentioned in the Bible. 

EGYPT. 

We begin with Egypt, which has supplied the most abundant 
materials for study, which has yielded the richest reward for 
patient research and which is still a great mystery. Through its 
whole extent it abounds in relics, inscriptions and monuments 
which confirm the truth of holy word. 

The first scene in the great emancipation under Moses presents 
the Hebrew bondmen bowed down under heavy burdens in the 
brickkiln and scattered abroad over the land in search of stubble 
for the rude manufacture. And to this day millions of bricks are 
found there, made of mud mixed with straw and dried in the sun, 
lying just where they were placed by the hands of the children of 
Israel when they worked in the slime-pits under the rod of the 
taskmaster. I have myself seen fifty children, boys and girls, car- 
rying earth and stones in aprons and baskets to build a mound in 
the pleasure-grounds of the modern monarch of Egypt, while task- 
masters stood over them with rods to see that they did their work. 

Some have wondered how the Hebrews could contribute vast 
quantities of gold and silver and precious stones, as Moses says 
they did, for the construction of the tabernacle and its furniture in 
the desert. But they had learned the art of ornamentation from 
their masters, and they had conformed to the social life around 



696 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

them in the days of their freedom and prosperity; and now neck- 
laces of gold and cornelian, engraved signets, girdles, rings, pen- 
dants, bracelets, armlets, amulets, chains, metallic mirrors, costly 
and elegant ornaments of every description, are found in tombs 
with mummies, and the forms are engraven and painted on monu- 
ments of the age of Moses. The explorer in the valley of the 
Nile to-day can see the models from which Bezaleel and Aholiab 
learned the art of setting precious stones and of making wreathen 
chain-work in gold and of carving in wood, and of devising all 
manner of tasteful forms in gold and silver and brass. 

The children of Israel brought an offering of red skins of rams 
and badgers' skins for the service of the sanctuary; and the mon- 
uments show us the forms and devices which they used for the 
adornment of the sacred tent. In the tombs of Thebes leather has 
been found stamped with beautiful figures in various colors, with 
the names of the most ancient kings. Sandals/ shields, harps, 
quivers, are ornamented with green morocco. The stamp of the 
lotus blossom can still be traced in the leather, and the shop of the 
workers is pictured on the walls of the tomb. 

At Beni Hassan the Bible student can see to-day the representa- 
tion of the whole process of preparing the fine-twined linen which 
was used in making the curtains of the tabernacle, and the pictures 
are as old as the days of Moses. Men are beating the yarn with 
sticks to make it soft. They are boiling it in water to increase its 
pliability. Women join with men in twining the thread for weav- 
ing. The blue and the purple and the scarlet thread which the 
wise-hearted Hebrew women spun for the tabernacle in the desert 
has been kept thirty- three hundred years in the dry air of Egypt 
for our eyes to see. 

Moses was commanded to prepare holy oil for the consecration 
of the tabernacle and all the vessels used in the service of the 
sanctuary. He was to compound it with sweet spices, after the art 
of the Egyptian perfumer, as he himself had known it to be done 
in Egypt. The vases in which these perfumes were kept have been 
found in the valley of the Nile. In some cases the precious oint- 
ment remains in the alabaster box just as it was put up by the 
Egyptian apothecary, and the spices still exhale their odor. The 
sweet savor of the costly preparation, three thousand years old, in 
the tombs of Egypt is a testimony that the word of Moses is true. 

The Greek historian Herodotus says that no vines grew in 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 697 

Egypt; and yet the history of Joseph, as given by Moses, tells us 
that Pharaoh had a chief butler, and that the office of cupbearer 
was a post of honor in the court of the king. But the monuments 
show that the native-born Hebrew knew the country better than it 
was known to the much-traveled and wonder-loving Greek. In 
the oldest tombs of Gizeh are representations of vines trained upon 
poles, of gathering grapes in baskets, treading the wine-press, 
straining off the juice, bottling, decanting and storing the wine. 
At Thebes boys are seen frightening away birds from the vine- 
yards. At Beni Hassan kids are browsing among the vines after 
the vintage. Many monuments represent kings presenting offer- 
ings of wine to the gods. And these pictures go back to the time 
when the chief butler told his dream to Joseph in prison. 

The chief baker dreamed that he was carrying three wicker- 
baskets of white bread upon his head in the streets. In the top 
basket were all 'kinds of pastry for the king, and the birds ate it 
out of the uppermost basket as he walked. This is just what I 
have seen many a time in the streets of old Cairo — bakers and con- 
fectioners carrying wide wicker-baskets on their heads, and birds 
flying about among the people and alighting on the burdens which 
men and beasts are carrying. In the ancient tombs at Biban el 
Moluk and elsewhere are found fancy loaves of wheaten and barley 
bread, kneaded in the form of stars, triangles, disks and other 
figures ; and the monuments show that the custom of carrying on 
the head w r as then, as now, universal. 

Potiphar made Joseph overseer in his house, and the whole man- 
agement of everything in the great establishment of the Egyptian 
lord was left in the hands of the Hebrew slave. Joseph himself 
had such a confidential steward after he became prime minister to 
Pharaoh. In a tomb at Kumel el Ahmar is a picture for which 
Joseph might have sat when he managed the affairs of Potiphar's 
house. The steward is taking an account of stores received and 
given out. His clerks are about him with account-books and im- 
plements of writing. One has the pen over his ear, the paper in 
his hand and the writing-table under his arm. 

The sacred record says that Joseph built storehouses for grain in 
anticipation of the years of famine. In the tombs of Elethya and 
Beni Hassan there are pictures of the storehouse and of the whole 
process of taking in grain as it was prescribed by the Hebrew 
prime minister of Pharaoh. The accountant stands by writing 



698 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

down the number of bushels, the measurer pours the grain into 
sacks, porters carry the full bags into the granary, and still an- 
other overseer chalks down the tally of bushels in rude characters 
on the wall of the storehouse. And these pictures run parallel to 
the words of Moses, that Joseph gathered corn as the sands of the 
sea very much, until he left numbering. 

We have given only a few specimens of the testimonies to the 
books of Moses which have been found by research among the 
ruins and ancient monuments of Egypt. It would take many vol- 
umes to exhaust the theme if we should examine every passage in 
which the sacred record refers to the land of the Nile and we should 
bring forward every discovery which illustrates and confirms the 
inspired word. The monuments, mysterious and mighty in their 
desolation; the sites of once populous cities, where now there is 
not an inhabitant ; the one great pyramid, containing stone material 
enough to build a wall six feet high and one foot thick from New 
York to San Francisco; the solemn Sphynx looking for ever with 
stony eyes toward the sun-rising, as if waiting for a day that never 
dawns ; the Serapeum of Sakkara, with subterranean galleries that 
must have cost a kingdom and a generation to cut in the solid 
rock, standing at the door of which one now sees no living thing 
in the whole range of the eye; the pictured tombs; the colossal 
statues; the miles of columns standing like a stone forest in the 
drifted sand; the temples covering acres of ground, with sculp- 
tures and pillars and obelisks ; the long succession of ruins, extend- 
ing five hundred miles, from Cairo to the Cataracts, — all confirm 
what the Hebrew historians wrote and the prophets of Israel fore- 
told concerning the pride and the power, the glory and the desola- 
tion, of the wisest and the basest of the ancient kingdoms. 

AEABIA PETKJEA. 

The Sinaitic peninsula is one vast witnessing-stone lifting up its 
craggy mountains and its barren wastes in testimony to the divine 
word. This great and terrible wilderness has little to attract the 
pleasure-seeking traveler; but to the Bible student it seems to be 
haunted with memories of Moses and of the great march of the 
tribes under the lead of the cloud and the fire. It has been trav- 
ersed many times by earnest and devout pilgrims who were intent 
to follow the steps of the great Hebrew lawgiver. The portion 
which lies alongside of the Gulf of Suez, and which is of the 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 699 

greatest interest to Bible students, has been carefully measured and 
mapped by the British Ordnance Survey. 

In November, 1868, an exploring party, nine in number, set out 
from Suez, with a train of forty-four camels and forty Arab drivers, 
and they spent the whole of the following winter and spring in 
tracing out the mysterious pathways, collecting and classifying the 
meagre productions of the desert and making an accurate trigono- 
metrical survey of the whole region crossed by the tribes in their 
march to the mount of God. 

The company was under the command of Captain Wilson, well 
known for his accurate and exhaustive survey of Jerusalem. Rev. 
F. W. Holland, who had traversed the country three times before, 
and who was on terms of close acquaintanceship with the native 
Arabs, accompanied the expedition as guide. The difficult task 
of interpreting Arabic names, gathering up and sifting local tradi- 
tions and deciphering inscriptions was undertaken by Mr. E. H. 
Palmer, of St. John's College, Cambridge. His remarkable famil- 
iarity with the language and his skill in questioning and cross- 
questioning the suspicious and deceptive wanderers of the desert 
enabled him to obtain much information where ordinary travelers 
would be misled or would be left in utter ignorance. In his excel- 
lent work, " The Desert of the Exodus," Mr. Palmer has embodied 
the results of observations made in eleven months of wandering on 
foot through the desolate region where the tribes sojourned forty 
years. The expedition was provided with experienced photogra- 
phers, draughtsmen and observers in geology and natural history. 

The leading object of the survey was to trace the march of the 
Israelites, so far as possible, and to identify the sites named by 
Moses ; and yet, irrespective of any theories or conclusions of 
their own, their purpose was to map all the passages among the 
mountains so minutely, and to describe the features of the country 
so fully and accurately, that students of the Bible could weigh the 
evidence and judge for themselves. 

The two great rival mountains, Jebel Musa and Jebel Serbal, 
each of which has been claimed for the true Sinai, were made the 
subject of a special and more minute survey, and a map of both 
was drawn on a scale of six inches to the mile. Every gorge and 
height of these ragged and terrible masses of rock was delineated 
with the utmost accuracy. In addition to these two special maps, 
nearly four thousand square miles of country are embraced in the 



700 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

general survey. Every pass which it was possible for the tribes to 
take was explored and laid down on the maps. The natural pro- 
ductions, the water supply, the temperature, the signs of ancient 
occupancy, the possible changes in fertility, were all subjected to 
the most rigid examination. 

The survey of the two most important and interesting groups of 
mountains was attended with great difficulty and much exposure 
of life and limb, and yet it was accomplished without serious acci- 
dent. The engineers were obliged to climb and to carry their 
instruments to stations six, seven and eight thousand feet high. 
When heated and exhausted with the toil of reaching such lofty 
heights, they must remain there for hours exposed to the icy wind 
and making minute and careful observations, while so chilled and 
benumbed with cold that they could scarcely hold the hand steady 
enough to adjust the instrument or to write down the figures. The 
distance from one station to another was often very great, and the 
intervening country was crossed and cut up by jagged ridges and 
gorges to such a degree that it would cost a hard day's toil just to 
reach some lofty crag and cover some conspicuous spot with white- 
wash, so that it could be sighted by the distant observer. 

Sometimes the adventurous climber must cling to the face of the 
crag with both hands and carry the whitewash bucket by the bail 
in his teeth. Loose boulders would give way beneath the feet and 
the wind would set others rolling down from above, and between 
the two it was as much as the wariest engineer could do to save his 
head and his instrument from fracture. 

The bold bluff of the Sinaitic mountains called Ras Sufsafeh 
rises sheer two thousand feet from the plain where the tribes en- 
camped at the giving of the law. The engineers were obliged to 
make their way along the giddy precipice at that fearful height 
barefoot and clinging to a rope let down from above and held at 
the other end by their companions, who had braced themselves 
against some projection farther back on the ridge. 

The declivities of Serbal were more abrupt than those of Sinai ; 
its narrow defiles were more jagged, and its labyrinthine valleys 
were choked up as if they had been swept by a wild torrent of 
confused boulders and broken stones. The labor of climbing from 
point to point over such enormous masses of ruin was very great. 
On the lower levels, where the mountains open out into broad 
basins and dreary sand-plains, the air was hot and stifling— some- 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 701 

times still as death, and then again rushing through the heated 
funnels of the mountains in the suffocating blast of the simoom. 
The party suffered more from exhaustion on the low lands than 
they did from cold or fatigue on the lofty heights. The bracing 
air and the wild and terrible scenery of the mountains made the 
climbers of the heights tireless as the eagles and as sure-footed as 
the roe. 

In the end the long and laborious task was done, and well done. 
Every pass and valley where it was possible for the great host of 
the Hebrews to make their way to the mount of God was explored. 
Every turn, branch, elevation, depression and obstruction was laid 
down with mathematical accuracy upon maps to be seen and 
studied by millions who can never see the country itself. All the 
evidence which the desert can supply to help us in deciding upon 
the route of the Israelites and the scene of the giving of the law 
was gathered up. 

It is a remarkable circumstance that the nine practical, culti- 
vated men composing the expedition were unanimous in the con- 
clusions to which they came as to the main questions raised by the 
sacred story of the exodus and the desert-journey to the mount of 
God. They all agreed in the opinion that the children of Israel 
crossed the Gulf of Suez at or near the Wells of Moses; that they 
moved on southward past Ain Howarah and Gharundel to Tayi- 
beh ; that they turned to the right down to the plain of El 
Murkhah by the sea ; that they continued their march along the 
salt-plain to Wady Feiran, where they turned again into the 
mountains and followed the course of that wady to Wady es 
Sheik, and thence on to Sinai and the great encampment in the 
curved plain of Er Rahah before the mount. 

In this expedition there were two commissioned and four non- 
commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers, one naturalist, one 
linguist and one clergyman. They were not looking for evidences 
to support any peculiar theory as to the natural features of the 
country or any disputed interpretation of Scripture. Their object 
was to find out everything that can be known about the country, 
and to describe it in such clear and positive terms as can be best 
understood by those who have not seen it. They scaled every 
prominent peak, they traversed every important ravine and valley. 
They lodged in tents, traveled on foot, conversed with the inhabit- 
ants, gathered specimens of everything that lives and grows in the 



702 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

country, experienced every change of temperature and studied 
every aspect of earth and sky, and they were unanimous in the 
conclusion that the natural features and phenomena of the desert 
confirm and illustrate the truth of the sacred story given by Moses. 
The awful silence of the Sinaitic mountains recalls by contrast 
the thunders and the noise of the trumpet exceeding loud which 
made Moses and all the people in the camp exceedingly fear and 
quake. It is impossible for one who has not spent days and nights 
in the solitude of the desert to conceive how awful is the sound of 
crashing thunder and warring tempests echoing from height to 
height and reverberating through the long, empty galleries of 
naked rock. The blue haze that hides the distant peaks at sun- 
rise reminds the Bible reader of the morning when the cloud rested 
on the mount and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a 
furnace. 

The springs and wells found at long distances in the wanderings 
of the desert agree with the bitter waters of Marah and the twelve 
fountains of Elim and the gushing brook of Horeb and the water- 
ing-places where Moses led his flock in the days of his shepherd 
life. We find the burning bush in the thorny acacia, the shittim 
wood of the tabernacle in the sayal, the name of the camp Rith- 
mah in the retem under whose shade Elijah flung himself down in 
despair to die. 

The stunted pines that line the slender water-courses at Gharun- 
del are so conspicuous among the dreary herbage of the desert that 
they may well have given the name Elim — the place of trees. 
The bright-green hyssop, still clinging to the face of the crags 
under which the tribes encamped, shows how naturally it was pre- 
scribed to be used in the sprinklings and purifications of the 
sanctuary. 

In the wild, wandering Bedouin of to-day, jealous of all infringe- 
ment upon his tribal territory, we have the living representative 
of the Amalekite that opposed the march of the Israelites at 
Rephidim. We see Moses himself in the venerable gray-beard 
sheikh, wearing one garment, walking all day barefoot over sharp 
flint-stones, rounded pebbles and hot sand, eating two or three 
dates and a handful of parched barley for supper and lying down 
to sleep upon the bare earth for the night. In the bronzed, bare- 
foot women, leading their lean goats and starveling sheep along the 
desolate wadies in search of water, we see Jethro's daughters as 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 703 

Moses found them when he fled for refuge to the wilds of the 
desert. 

The bare, turfless graves that add loneliness to the pathways 
among the mountains and to the dreary stretch across the great 
waste of the wandering, are just such as the stricken tribes left 
behind them when they took up the march in the morning and 
followed the moving cloud to a new encampment. The rude 
domed houses, made of massive stones, standing in groups like 
beehives, with no windows and a door only high enough for a man 
to creep in on all fours, carry us back to times as old as the exodus, 
and the circles of stones that are often found near them may mark 
the burial-place of some who saw the pillar of cloud and fire as it 
moved at the head of the host. 

The whole Sinaitic peninsula is covered with traditions which 
refer to the great leader and lawgiver of Israel. The Wells of 
Moses, the Baths of Moses, the Mountain of Moses, the Cleft of 
Moses, the Valley of Moses and the Island of Moses show how 
deeply the sacred story has impressed itself upon the country and 
the inhabitants ; and, in fact, everything which draws the inquiring 
traveler to this desert-world is so bound up with Moses and his 
great history that the whole stony waste may be considered his 
monument and the witness to his divine mission. The surveyor 
with compass and measuring-line, the naturalist with his keen 
search for every living thing, the linguist gathering up everything 
that can be learned from the tongues and traditions of men, the 
Bible student with the sacred record ever open in his hand, — all 
agree in the conclusion that the testimony of Moses is true. 

ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA. 

The oldest traditions of the human race and the opening pages 
of inspired history agree in placing the first home of the human 
family in the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris. Here first were 
cities built, kingdoms founded, armies organized, captives and 
spoils accumulated from conquered nations. Hence arose art, 
science, letters, law. Somewhere near the banks of these two 
great rivers Abraham kept his flock when he received the divine 
call to leave kindred and country, by obedience to which he became 
the father of the faithful to all succeeding generations. Babylon 
and Nineveh were the two great capital cities of the pagan power 
which cast their threatening shadows upon Jerusalem and Palestine 



704 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

from the East. The Hebrew psalmists and prophets exhaust all 
the resources of language in describing the greatness of their 
power, the terror of their arms, the splendor of their palaces, the 
excesses of their pride and luxury and the desolation that should 
come upon them in their fall. 

We should expect that in the ruins of such mighty cities there 
would be found some trace of their former greatness ; and recent 
excavations and researches have abundantly justified that expect- 
ation. Forty years ago nothing but shapeless heaps, looking like 
natural mounds of earth, marked the spot where once " chariots 
raged in the broad ways" of Nineveh and the pavements shook 
with the ''rattling of wheels and the prancing of horses." Vil- 
lages had been built and barley had been sown, and grass and 
flowers had grown for centuries on the slopes and summits of these 
hills of ruin, and nobody knew that the ashes of mighty empires 
made the piles and covered the countless dead. 

The work of examination begun by M. Botta was taken up and 
carried on by Layard, Rawlinson, Loftus and others, until it was 
found that vast palaces and colossal monuments and written records 
of glory and conquest and all the pride and pomp of the gorgeous 
East were entombed within those shapeless heaps. Living men 
within our time have lodged in the excavated chambers and walked 
through the halls and rested in the courts that were once tenanted 
by those mighty monarchs of the East upon whose heads the He- 
brew prophets poured out the vials of their inspired wrath — Sargon 
and Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. There is no stone left of the 
house in which Hezekiah prayed for deliverance from Sennacherib 
in Jerusalem ; but the mighty Assyrian conqueror, whose host was 
smitten by the angel of the Lord, went home to Nineveh to dwell 
in a house whose pictured walls and paved courts and tessellated 
floors remain to this day. 

The British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris are 
stored with records and sculptures and monuments which were 
taken from the heaps of ruin on the banks of the Tigris, and which 
reveal the inner life and the secret history of men that lived three 
thousand years ago ; and those dumb, unimpeachable witnesses in 
clay and stone abundantly confirm all that the Hebrew prophets 
said about the pride and power, the riches and luxury, the cruelty 
and the superstition, of the great monarchs of the East. 

The inner walls of the exhumed palaces were paneled to a great 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 705 

extent with slabs of stone on which long inscriptions were carefully 
cut, and the cuneiform letters are still in good preservation. Hol- 
low cylinders of fine terra cotta were written all over with the 
campaigns of kings and the exploits of mighty hunters and with 
invocations to the gods, and the lines in the inscriptions are often 
as closely set as the letters on this printed page. The same writing 
is found upon colossal bulls and lions, stone obelisks, clay tablets 
and seals. The clay tablets, of which thousands have been recov- 
ered, were inscribed with a sharp style and then baked hard, so 
that the letters are as clear and as easily read to-day as when first 
written. 

Dr. Grotefend of Hanover was the first to find a clew to the 
meaning of these strange inscriptions. His suggestions were fol- 
lowed up by Sir Henry Rawlinson, Dr. Hinks and many others, 
until now the interpretation of these ancient writings is established 
beyond question. We know what Sargon said and Shalmanezer 
planned and Esarhaddon built and Sennacherib boasted better 
than we should if we had lived at Jerusalem when their names 
were a terror to the people of Palestine. These stone and clay 
documents are historical ; and even when they go beyond the truth, 
from the habit of Oriental boasting, they confirm the word of the 
prophets, who said that the city of Nineveh was full of lies. 

The Hebrew exiles wept and hung their harps upon the willows 
by the river side when they remembered Zion in the strange land ; 
and it only added bitterness and mockery to their grief when their 
cruel conquerors required of them a song. And it seems like the 
first strain of their song of exile which has been sounding through 
the world for seventy generations when we see upon the walls of 
the palace of Sennacherib the representation of a company of cap- 
tives led by a military officer and compelled to play upon harps 
for the entertainment of their conquerors. This tablet, which is 
preserved in the British Museum, is as old as the memorable psalm 
in which the Hebrew captives poured forth the sorrows of exile in 
the strange land. 

The founder of Nineveh is described in the Bible as a mighty 
hunter before the Lord. His successors in the monarchy retained 
the spirit and prowess of their great ancestor. Tiglath-pileser, who 
repeatedly overrun Palestine with his devastating armies, caused 
his exploits in the chase to be recorded upon a terra cotta cylinder 
which was found amid the ruins of his palace. In that inscription 

46 



706 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

he claims to have killed 920 lions with his own hand. The bas- 
reliefs of other kings make them as mighty in conflict with the 
king of beasts. The walls of temples and palaces are covered 
with sculptures and inscriptions representing these mighty hunters 
engaged in hand-to-hand conflict with lions, bulls, buffaloes, wild 
boars. They claim the homage of their people and the admiration 
of mankind as much for victories over beasts as for the defeat of 
great armies and the capture of strong cities. 

Nineveh is described by the Hebrew prophets as a bloody city. 
The people and princes are said to be cruel and to have no mercy ; 
and the monarchs of the great conquering city have caused the 
counterpart of these declarations to be written and graven a thou- 
sand times over on the walls of their own palaces. As the king 
walked through his courts and halls he could see himself and his 
officers on the written tablets and sculptured marbles, represented 
in every act and attitude of cruelty. In these terrible decorations, 
which are now transferred to London, we see the successors of 
Nimrod impaling and flaying men alive, putting out the eyes of 
captives, plucking out the tongue by the roots, leading prisoners 
with chains thrust through the lips and nose, commanding the 
mutilation of the slain, the gathering of human heads into heaps 
as monuments of victory, trampling the wounded under the hoofs 
of horses, giving the dead to be devoured by dogs and vultures. 
Sargon and Sennacherib and Esarhaddon caused it to be written 
as the best memorial of their reign that they took captives and 
burned cities and desolated countries ; that they tortured and cut 
off heads and crucified ; that they piled up monuments of bleeding 
bodies and made spears and chariots float in blood. These records 
of cruelty, in which the monarchs of the bloody city gloried, have 
been taken from its ruins, and they may be read in confirmation 
of the prophets' words to-day. 

In the awful "burdens" which Isaiah and Ezekiel and Nahum 
poured upon Nineveh, her kings and people are charged with ex- 
cessive pride and arrogance; and all this is confirmed by the clay 
tablets and the marble panels which have been found in the palaces 
of the proud city, and which were written all over with the annals 
in which princes and people gloried. In these ancient records the 
Assyrian monarch styles himself the vicegerent of the gods. He 
is the commander of unnumbered legions, the possessor of all seas 
and lands. He rushes among his enemies like devouring flame, 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 707 

he lays waste like a devastating storm. The mightiest armies are 
swept away before him like chaff before the whirlwind. Among 
all the kings of the earth there is not one to compare with him in 
wisdom or glory or power. All this is said over and over again 
by the Ninevites themselves in stronger terms than it was charged 
upon them by the prophets of Judah. 

It was foretold in Judea, years before it came to pass, that the 
mighty city which had been for ages the terror of the nations 
should be brought to desolation. It should become "a place for 
beasts to lie down in," a lodgment for the cormorant and the bit- 
tern, a nesting-place for every unclean bird. For many centuries 
this prophecy has been fulfilled with awful exactness. The hyaena, 
the wolf, the fox and the jackal lie down where Sennacherib and 
Esarhaddon maintained their royal state; the cormorant and the 
bittern croak among the reeds and wade in the pools of stagnant 
water where once gorgeous robes were trailed upon tessellated floors 
and silvery fountains played in palace-courts. Flocks of sheep 
and herds of camels seek their scanty pasturage among mounds 
that were made by the ruins of towers and temples and city walls, 
the wonder of the world for their magnificence and splendor. 

The most recent discoveries among the ruins of Nineveh, and, to 
Bible studeuts, the most interesting, were made by Mr. George Smith 
of the British Museum. He made two journeys, leaving London 
in January, 1873, for the first, and in November of the same year 
for the second. He had acquired great skill in the interpretation 
of the cuneiform inscriptions upon the clay and stone tablets stored 
in the Museum. Messrs. Layard, Loftus and Rassam had sent 
home many boxes of fragments of tablets which had never been 
assorted and joined so as to make a connected record. Mr. Smith 
set himself to the task of arranging and deciphering these broken 
tablets until he discovered that they contained a Chaldean account 
of the deluge. He found that the fragments belonged to a series 
of twelve tablets, and it was with the hope of completing the series 
that he undertook his two journeys. 

Mr. Smith was so far successful in his two expeditions as to 
recover many new portions of the original inscriptions. He has 
identified six out of the twelve tablets, and he has found a great 
number of fragments which serve to fill up and illustrate the 
legends. The w T hole series records the adventures of a hero who is 
supposed to be the Nimrod of the Bible. Mr. Smith is of the 



708 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

opinion that the tablets which he is now interpreting in London 
were written some five hundred years before the time of Moses. 

The most perfect, and far the most interesting, of the twelve 
tablets is the eleventh. It contains the Chaldean account of the 
deluge. The leading incidents, and sometimes the very language, 
bear such a striking resemblance to the account in Genesis that the 
two must point to a common origin. 

The cuneiform narrative takes us to Surripak, a city near the 
mouth of the Euphrates, whose name signifies the " city of the 
ark," and whose inhabitants worship " the god of the deluge." 
Here lived Hasisadra, a holy man who had survived the great 
flood. He tells the story of the wide-wasting catastrophe and of 
his own escape. According to him, men were wicked, and the 
Deity resolved to destroy them for their sins. Hasisadra is fore- 
warned of the coming judgment, and he is told to build an ark to 
save himself and family. The dimensions of the vessel are given, 
but the numbers are mutilated so that they can only be read 
conjecturally. 

Hasisadra is afraid to build because the work is so great, and 
because it will expose him to the ridicule of those who believed not 
the prophecy. Nevertheless, he is persuaded to begin, and the 
details of the work are given. The mighty ship is stored with 
food, and at the command of the god Hea the beasts of the field 
gather in and are enclosed by the divine hand. The vessel is cov- 
ered with three measures of bitumen within and without, to make 
it water-tight. Hasisadra himself at last enters, taking with him 
his wife, his servants, his young men, and the door is shut. 

Then it rained heavily from heaven. The raging of the storm 
went on from night to morning, and mighty thunder sounded upon 
the deep, and the horizon of waters widened until the bright earth 
was turned to a waste. The stormy deluge went over the people ; 
brother knew not his brother ; all life died, and all was turned to 
corruption. 

Six days and nights the storm raged. On the seventh the del- 
uge quieted, and the sea began to dry. The mountain of Nizir 
stopped the floating ship. On the seventh day after the ark rested 
Hasisadra sent forth a dove, which went, and turned, and came 
back to his hand. Then he sent forth a swallow, and it returned 
as did the dove. Then he sent forth a raven, and it wandered away 
and did not return. Finally Hasisadra sent forth the animals, and 



RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 709 

came down from the ark himself, and built an altar and offered 
sacrifice and prayed on the peak of the mountain. 

Thus this old Chaldean record, written, as is supposed, five hun- 
dred years before Moses, agrees in several important particulars 
with the inspired narrative in Genesis. The wickedness of men, 
the divine auger against their wickedness, the command to build 
the ark, the gathering of birds and beasts into the ark, the tre- 
mendous rain, the resting of the ark on the mountain, the sending 
out of the birds, the building of an altar and the offering of sacri- 
fice after the flood are in both accounts. The Chaldean tablets 
contain much which is not found in Genesis, and which can only 
be classed among fables. The Bible proves its divine origin as 
much by what it omits as by what it contains. The wonder is that 
Moses, having all the legends of the Chaldeans and other nations 
to select from in the composition of Genesis, should have had the 
wisdom to choose the good and true, and cast the bad and false away. 

More recently, Mr. Smith has found among the treasures brought 
home from Nineveh a still more interesting and remarkable series 
of cuneiform inscriptions. He calls it " The Story of the Creation 
and Fall." He has not yet fully deciphered the tablets, but he 
has gone far enough to learn that the Chaldean narrative begins 
with the period before the world, in its present form, was created. 
Vivid representations are given of the desolation and the chaos 
which went before order and beauty. Some mighty celestial being 
"raises impious war in heaven, and battle proud with vain at- 
tempt." The great arch rebel rides upon the storm, and hurls 
thunderbolts with his hand. Nevertheless, he is overthrown, and 
cast out of heaven. The world is created in successive evolutions, 
and each step of advance is declared to be good. The divine hand 
finds its last and best work in man. The new-made immortal is 
warned and instructed by his Creator ; and the highest blessing is 
promised to him on condition that he keeps his first estate. But 
he yields to temptation from the evil power that fell in heaven. 
Then the blessing is changed to a terrible curse, and the sinning 
creature is driven from the paradise where he had first found a 
happy home. 

All this is doubtless mingled with much that is fabulous. But 
when we consider that these tablets, in all probability, date from 
a time five hundred years before Genesis was written, their coin- 
cidence with the words of Moses is startling and suggestive in the 



710 RESEARCH AND TRAVEL IN BIBLE LANDS. 

extreme. They give us the clearest and the most complete account 
of the opinions and traditions that prevailed among men in the 
earliest times. They seem to have been kept for so many centuries 
on purpose that they might be brought forth from the archives of 
ruin and be made to give their testimony to the inspired record in 
this most inquiring and critical age. 

So we might go over all the lands named in the Bible, and search 
through all the museums that are stored with relics from the graves 
of the past, and we should gather from all our researches increasing 
light to throw upon the page of divine revelation. The student of 
the Bible has nothing to fear, but everything to gain, from the in- 
crease of knowledge on all subjects, from all sources, among all 
classes of men. No matter how far the boldest and keenest in- 
quirers may carry their investigations. Every real discovery, every 
established fact in science, in history, in nature, must be in har- 
mony with the word of God, and must promote its mission of light 
and instruction in the world. 

Let the astronomer explore the heavens and trace the pathway 
of worlds on the high fields of immensity. Let him analyze the 
floating fire-mist in the midnight sky, and conjecture the countless 
centuries that must pass while it is condensing and rounding itself 
into suns and systems. Let the geologist mine his way down to 
the foundations of the earth and read the inscriptions which the 
centuries have written on the eternal rocks. Let the naturalist 
trace connection and development along all the ascending grades 
of being from the floating slime of the sea to the full-formed and 
perfect man. Let the physiologist trace, if he can, the electric 
chain with which the immortal mind is darkly bound to its perish- 
able prison of flesh. Let the linguist find out what he can from 
the study of all languages and all literature concerning the unity 
or diversity of race. Let the sacred record itself be subjected to 
the most severe and exhaustive criticism in every statement of fact 
and in every declaration of principle. Let tireless millions run to 
and fro through all the earth and increase all departments of 
human knowledge until the student stands aghast at the moun- 
tainous accumulation. Still the one book of divine revelation shall 
be in harmony with all truth. For its full, perfect vindication 
before the world it is only necessary that students, critics and 
common people shall become honest, diligent, candid disciples of 
the truth. 



INDEX 



A. 

Abou Hannes, 489. 

Menzel, 489. 
Aceipiter nistis, 365. 
Acridium peregrinum, 598. 
Acronotua bubalia, 144. 
Adas, 143. 
Addax, 141. 
Adder, 554. 
African Elephant, 311. 
Ahus, 143. 
Akbar, 91. 
Ako, 207. 
Alpine ibex. 204. 
Ammoperdix Heyii, 427. 
Auiinotragus, 18(5. 
Anakah, 69. 
Annelida, 644. 
Ant, 616. 

Provident, 616. 

Agricultural, 618. 

Habitations, 618. 

Mound making, 618. 

Stinging, 618. 

Care of stores, 619. 

Economy, 620. 

AVinged, 622. 
Aoudad, 186. 
Ape, 1. 

Worshipped, 5. 

In captivity, 7. 

Solomon's, 9. 

Satyrs, 10. 
Aphaniptera, 636. 
Apis fasciata, 612. 

mellifica, 606. 
Aptera, 636. 
Aquila chryea&toSf 354. 

mogilnik, 355. 
Arachnida, 640. 
Ardea cinered, 470. 
Ariel, 136. 
Arnebeth, 97. 
Arvicola arvalia, 93. 
Aainus hemippus, 280. 
Ashkoko, 316. 
Ass, 264. 

Domesticated, 264. 

Royal, 265. 

White, 267. 

Domestic, 270. 

Saddling, 271. 



Ass, In Cairo, 272. 

Irrigating, 277. 

Wild, 279. 
Assyrian, Researches, 704. 
"Tablets, 705. 

Hunting scenes, 706. 

Cruelty, 706. 

Desolation, 707. 

Deluge traditions, 708. 

Story of Creation, 709. 

Testimonies to Bible, 
710. 
Athene noctua, 371. 

Persicct, 371. 
Atta barbara, 621. 

malefaeiens, 618. 
Ayzal, 208. 
Ayzalah, 208. 
Azel, 203. 

B. 

Bactrian Camel, 244. 
Badger, 80. 

Skins, 71. 

Sandals, 72. 

Habits. 73. 
Barbel, 567. 

Long-headed, 567. 
Barbue lonyiceps, 566. 
Bat, 11. 

Haunts, 12. 

Idols, cast to, 13. 

Legend, 15. 

Caves, 16. 
Bear, 75. 

Localities, 76. 

Food, 77. 

Robbed, 78. 
Beden, 203. 
Bee, 605. 

Abundant in Pales- 
tine, 605. 

Banded, 606. 

Samson's Honey, 607. 

Honey in Palestine, 
609. 

Dibbs' Honey, 811. 
Behemoth, 318. 

In Job, 319. 

Hunted, 324. 

Egyptian, 326. 

In rivers, 329. 



Bh under, 3. 

Bible, Book for the world, 
679. 

East witness for, 680. 

Agrees with the Land, 
682. 
Bittern, 80, 462. 

Haunts waste places, 
464. 

Cry, 465. 

Nest, 466. 

Solitary, 467. 
Black Vulture, 336. 
Blue Thrush, 398. 
Bog-bleater, 464. 
Bonasus, 131. 
Bonnet Monkey, 10. 
Boomah, 371. 
Botaurus stellaris, 462. 
Bubale, 143. 
Bubalus bitffelus, 114. 
Bubo ascalaphus, 373. 

maximus, 374. 

Virginianw, 374. 
Buffalo, 114. 
Bull, 101. 

Wild, 116. 

Net for, 117. 

Horns, 120. 
Butter, 203. 

bump, 464. 

c. 

Caccabis saxatilis, 429. 
Calf, 101. 
Camel, 216. 

Arabian, 244. 
Camelua Bactrianus, 216. 

dromedariw, 216. 

Milk, 21S. 

Water-carrier, 219. 

Flesh, 220. 

Burdens, 221. 

Mounting, 223. 

Furniture, 228. 

Speed, 230. 

Anger, 234. 

In streets, 237. 

Food, 238. 

Foot, 239. 

Hair, 241 . 

Needle's eye, 243. 

711 



712 



INDEX. 



Camelus Bactriamis, Two- 
humped, 245. 
Capistrated Sphsenops, 

533. 
Capra Angoremia, 202. 

Mambrica, 202. 

Nubiana, 203. 

Syriaca, 202. 
Caprovis Musimon, 188. 
Caspian Emys, 509. 
Cat, 36. 

Embalmed, 37. 

Fishing, 38. 
Cattle, 101. 
Cerastes, 550. 
Chameleon, 534. * 

Mode of climbing, 
536. 

Eyes, 537. 

Color, 537. 

Catching prey, 538. 

Legends, 538. 
Chamois, 185. 

Strength, 186. 

Horns, 188. 
Chasidah, 478. 
Chephor-peroth, 88. 
Chetah, 29. 
Choled, 68. 
Cicigna, 533. 
Ciconia nigra, 483. 
Circa'etus cinercua, 355. 
Circu8 seruginoaus, 368. 

cyaneua, 369. 
Climber, 203. 
Cobra, 544. 
Cockatrice, 554. 
Columba senas, 419. 

livia, 418. 

palumbus, 419. 

Schimperi, 418. 
Coney, 312. 

Ruminant, 315. 

Haunts, 316. 

Wise, 317. 
Cora, 136. 
Coral, 647. 

Corine Antelope, 135. 
Corinna, 135. 
Cormorant, 490. 

Flight, 491. 

Fishing, 492. 

In China, 493. 

Nests, 494. 
Corvu8 agricola, 447. 

cor ax, 447. 

monedula, L., -I 47. 

umbrinus, 447. 
Coryphsena hippuris, 571. 
Coryphene, 571. 
Cow, 101. 
Crane, 474. 

Migrations, 476. 

Haunts, 477. 

Voice, 478. 



Creation, Bible Story of, 

661, 667. 
Cricetua frumentarius, 94. 
Crocodile, 514. 
Crow, Hooded, 447. 
Cuckoo, 405. 

Stolen nest, 406. 

Legend, 408. 
Culex, 635. 

Great Spotted, 406. 
Cyprinus, 531. 
Cyp8elua affinia, 389. 

melba, 389. 

D. 

Duboia xanthica, 555. 
Dasypus, 97. 
Deer, 209. 

Agility, 210. 

Hunted, 211. 

"Watchfulness, 212. 

Deer and serpent, 215. 
Deloul, 229. 
Deror, 384. 
Dhubb, 512. 
Diadem Staircase Shell, 

588. 
Dibs, 611. 

Dipsas plicatua, 593. 
Diptera, 632. 
Dip us, 95. 
Dishon, 141. 
Dob, 76. 
Dog, 39. 

Hated in East, 39. 

In streets, 40. 

At gates, 42. 

Organizations, 43. 

Eaten by dogs, 45. 

House guard, 46. 

Howls, 48. 

Periwinkle, 586. 

Whelk, 586. 
Dor-hawk, 379. 
Dormouse, 96. 
Dove, 408. 

Noah's, 409. 

In sacrifice, 411. 

Gentleness, 413. 

Dove-cotes, 415. 

Blue Bock, 418. 

Egyptian, 418. 

Bing, 419. 

Stock, 419. 

Turtle, 419. 

Wild Bock, 419. 
Duck, Hawk, 369. 

E. 

Eagle, 354. 

Fishing, 256. 
Golden, 354. 
Imperial, 355. 



Eagle, Short-toed, 355. 
Echia arenicola, 552. 

earinata, 553. 
Echenei8 remora, 570. 
Egyptian Mastigure, 512. 
Egyptian brick-making, 
665. 

Leather dressing, 696. 

Weaving, 696. 

Perfumery, 696. 

Vine culture, 697. 

Stewards, 697. 

Storehouses, 698. 

Monuments, 698. 
Elephant, 302. 

Ivory palaces, 305. 

In war, 307. 

Strong drink, 309. 
Elepha8 Indicua, 311. 
Emys caapica, 509. 
Entellua, 3, 4. 
Epheh, 552. 
EpMaltea Scopa, 377. 
Erinaceua, 83. 
Evil, doctrine of, 675, 668. 
Evolution. In nature, 649. 

In the Bible, 650. 

Theories of, 651. 

Arguments for, 651- 
653. 

Arguments against, 
654, 659. 

Beligious aspects of, 
674. 



Falco lanariua, 362. 

perec/rimis, 362. 
Fallow-Deer, 163, 208. 
Fan-foot, 69. 
Father John, 489. 

Sickle-bill, 489. 
Felis Manicnlntua, 37. 
Fern Owl, 378. 
Ferret, 69. 
Fichtall, 186. 
Field-mouse, 92. 
Fish, Sucking, 570. 
Fishes, 593. 

Apostolic fishermen, 
563. 

Miracle of fishes. 564. 

Hooks, 572. 

Nets, 574. 
Fish worship, 580. 
Flea, 638. 

Common in the East. 
638. 

Pasha hunting, 639. 
Fly, (>:'>2. 

Lord of flies, 632. 

Plague of, 633. 

Among Philistines, 
634. 



INDEX. 



713 



Fly, Camel, 634. 
Fowl, Domestic, 421. 
Fox, 55. 

Prowling at night, 57 

Samson's foxes, 58. 

Tail to tail, 59. 

Among vines, 61. 
Francolin, 430. 
Frog, 557. 

Abundant in Egypt, 
558. 

Plague of, 559. 

Edible, 559. 

Green, 559. 

G. 

Gazella Dorcas, 133. 
Gazelle, 133. 
Gecko, 534. 
Gier-Eagle, 339. 
Glass Snake, 531. 
Glede, 361. 
Gnat, 635. 

Straining out, 636. 
Goat, 189. 

Used for food, 189. 

Mode of cooking, 190. 

Milking scene, 191. 

Hair for clothing, 191. 

Skin bottles, 192. 

Making bottles, 193. 

Old and new bottles, 
195. 

Kneading-t roughs, 
196. 

Intractable, 198. 

Separated from sheep, 
199. 

Trained goats, 201. 

Wild goats, 204. 

Agility of goats, 205. 

Scent, 207. 
Goatsucker, 379. 
Grayling, Syrian, 631. 
Great Shearwater, 407. 
Greyhound, 49. 
Griffin Vulture, 345. 
Groaner, 69. 
Gnu cinerea, 476. 
Gyps fulv us, 345. 

H. 

Halicore hemprichii, 72. 
Hamster, 94. 
Hare, 96. 

Rumination, 98. 

Flesh prohibited, 99. 

Cowper's hare, 99. 

Why called ruminant, 
100. 
Harrier Hawk, 367. 

Hen, 369. 

Marsh, 368. 



| Hart, 208. 
| Hawk, 364. 

Nest on rocks, 365. 

Hovering, 366. 

Mode of hunting. 368. 

Falconry, 369. 

Blue, 369. 

Dove, 369. 

Ring-tailed, 369. 

White, 369. 
Hedgehog, 80. 
Heifer, 101. 
Heirie, 229. 
Heron, 468. 

Sociable, 470. 

Food, 471. 

Nest, 472. 

Living in marshes, 
473. 
Herpestes, 68. 
Hind, 208. 
Hircus fegragus, 202. 
Hirundo cahirica, 388. 

rufula, 388. 
Homoptera, 622. 
Honey, 609. 
Hoonuman, 3. 
Hoopoe, 392. 
Hornet, 613. 

A plague, 613. 

Nests, 615. 

Sting, 616. 
Horse, 248. 

Arabian, 249. 

Hoofs, 250. 

Sale of Arab, 252. 

Chariots, 253-260. 

Battle-scene, 261. 
Hunting Leopard, 29. 
Hyacinthine Gallinule. 

486. 
Hyasna, 62. 

Haunting graves, 63. 

Odor, 65. 

Caves, 66. 
Hydrosaurua niloticus, 5S9. 
Hymenoptera, 605. 
Hyrax, 312. 
Hystrix, 86. 



I. 



Ibex, Arabian, 203. 
Ibis, 488. 

falcinellus, 489. 

Glossy or Green, 489. 

religioaa, 48S. 

White or Sacred, 488. 
Insects, 596. 
Izab, 506. 



Jachmur, 143. 
Jackal, 55. 



I Jackdaw, 447. 
Jaela, 186, 204. 
Jar-Owl, 378. 
Jerboa, 95. 

K. 

Kaath, 497. 
Kalong, 12. 
Kestrel, 365. 
Kevel, 136. 

Kevella Antelope, 135. 
Khopash, 15. 
Kippod, 80. 
Kite, 357. 

Common, 358. 

Red, 358. 

Black, 359. 

Vision, 359. 

Predaceous, 360. 

Egyptian, 360. 

Flight, 362. 
Klip -das, 315. 
Kopliim, 2. 

L. 

Lacerta viridis, 630. 
L'ammergeier, 334. 
Lanner Falcon, 362. 
Lapwing, 392. 

Ill omened, 392. 

Solomon's story, 394. 
Leech, Horse, 646. 
Leopard, 29. 

Swiftness, 30. 

seizing prey, 31. 

Attacking folds, 32. 

Climbing, 33. 
Lepidoptera, 624. 
Lerwea, 186. 
Letaah, 529. 
Leviathan, 514. 

Description in Job, 
515. 

Crocodile, 517. 

Legends, 519. 

Mode of attacking, 
520. 

Eggs and scales, 522. 

Ichneumon, 523. 
Lion, 18. 

Dread of man, 19. 

Once in Palestine. 20. 

Strength, 21. 

Roar, 22, 23. 

Haunts, 24. 

Hunting, 27, 28. 
Lizard, 529. 

Common in Palestine, 
529. 

Scaly,' 529. 

Rapid motion, 530. 

Green, 530. 

Jersey, 530. 



714 



INDEX. 



Lizard, used in medicine, 
531. 

Burrowing, 533. 
Locust, 596. 

Migratory, 596. 

Swarms, 599. 

March, 600. 

In Egypt, 602. 

In Arabia, 603. 

For food, 604. 
Long-horned Gazelle, 136. 
Louse, 636. 

M. 

Macacus Rhesus, 3. 
Macaques, 3. 
Magpie, 448. 
Maharik, 229. 
Makur, 3. 

Manx Shearwater, 407. 
Martin, 388. 

House, 388. 

Sand, 388. 
Meleagrina margaritefera, 

595. 
Milvus atra, 358. 

Egyptiacus, 360. 

regalis, 358. 
Mohair Goat, 200. 
Mole, 86. 

Hard to catch, 88. 

Lives in ruins, 89. 

Hearing, 90. 
Molluscs, 585. 
Monitor, 534. 

Land, 539. 

Nilotic, 539. 
Monoceros, 123. 
Moor Buzzard, 369. 
Mosquito. 635. 
Moth, Clothes, 624. 

Garments moth-eaten, 
625. 

Grain, 626. 

Ravages in the East. 
626. 

Silkworm, 627. 

Rearing, 628. 
Mouflon, 188. 
Mouse, 91. 

Voracity, 91. 

Marring land, 92. 

Stores, 93. 
Mule, 2S5. 

Ridden by kings. 287. 

Valuable, 288. 

Perverse, 289. 

St. Joseph's mule, 291. 
MiiUiih eurmuletua, 582. 
Mursena, 567. 
Mursena helena, 566. 
Murex brandaris, 586. 

tru)iculu8, 586. 
My gale, 69. 



N. 

Naja haje, 544. 

tripudians, 545. 
Nates niloticns, 581. 
Nectarina Oseoe, 384. 
Neophron percnoptents, 341. 
Nets, 364. 
Night-hawk, 377. 

-jar, 379. 

Peculiar cry, 379. 

Feeds on the wing, 
379. 

Flight, 380. 
Nil-Bhunder, 6. 
Nile Perch, 581. 
Nubian Wild Goat, 204. 

o. 

(Edipoaa migratoria, 596. 
Onycha, 570. 
Orange-tip, Syrian, 631. 
Order, out of conflict, 673. 
Oreb, 449. 
Oryx, 120. 
Osjjrey, 356. 

Fishing, 356. 

Flight, 357. 
Ossifrage, 334. 

Flight, 336. 

Breaking bones, 337. 

Swoop on prey, 338. 
Ostrich, 450. 

Neglect of young, 452. 

Nest in sand, 453. 

Chase, 456. 

Speed, 459. 

Eggs, 460. 

Food, 460. 

Cry, 461. 
Ounce, 29. 
Ovi.8 Capotsis, 160. 

cauda obesa, 160. 

laticaudatus, 160. 

laticauda ^i/otyceros, 
160. 

steatopyga, 160. 
Owl, 370. 

used by bird-catchers, 
371." 

Little, 371. 

Little Night, 371. 

Barn, 373. 

Screech, 37-">. 

White, 373. 

Egyptian Eagle, 373. 

European Eagle, 374. 

Virginian Eared, 374. 

Eagle, 374. 

Flies at night, 374. 

Mythological, 376. 
Ox, 101. 

Stalled ox, 102. 

Fatted calf, 103. 



Ox, Yoke, 1 03. 

Plough, 104. 

Goad, 105. 

Threshing, 106. 

Pasturage, 109. 

Herdsman, 111. 

Worshipped, 112. 
Oxylophus glandarius, 406. 

P. 

Palestine, Maps of, 683. 

Survey needed, 684. 

Robinson's journeys, 
685. 

Books on, 686. 

Method of survey, 686. 

Recent research, 687. 

Cost of survey, 688. 

Ruins, 689. 

Views, 690. 

Desolation, 691. 

Depressing aspect, 
693. 

Beauty, 694. 

Memories, 695. 
Pandion haha'etus, 356. 
Parash, 248. 
Partridge, 426. 

Desert, 427. 

Hunting, 427. 

Hatching, 429. 

Greek, 429. 

Black, 430. 
Passer Cisalpimis, 402. 

montanus, 403. 

salicarius, 404. 
Peacock, 425. 
Pearl, 592. 

Mussel, 593. 

Mode of forming, 594. 

Oyster, 595. 

Diving, 596. 

Of great price, 596. 
Pelican, 495. 

Pouch, 497. 

Feeding young, 498. 

Legends, 499. 

Wings, 500. 

Haunts, 501. 

Crested, 502. 
Pelicanus cn'status, 502. 
Petroeossyphus eyanens, 

398. 
Pigeon, 418. 

House, 419. 

Rock, 41S. 
PlestiodoH auratum, 531. 
Porcupine, S5. 
Porphyrio vetenim, 339. 

486. 
Poultry, 421. 
Presbytes entellus, 4. 
Protozoa, 647. 
Psanimoeaurus scincus, 539 



INDEX. 



715 



Paeudopu* pallnsii, 531. 

Pteropus, 16. 

Puffin it* Anglorum, 407. 

cinereuft, 407. 
Purpura hpemriHtoma, 586. 

lapillwi, 586. 

Imperial purple, 5S6. 

Form of shell. dS6. 

Tyrian dye. 587. 

King's gifts, ,")8S. 
Talmud legends, 589. 
Pygarg, 141. 

Q. 

Quail, 430. 

Sent in the desert, 433. 

Fly low, 434. 

Mode of capturing, 
435. 

Note, 43(5. 

Brought by wind, 438, 
Qucreua cocci/era, 623. 

R. 

Radiata, 647. 
Rana cscnlenta, 559. 
Raven. 439. 

Noah's. 439. 

Elijah's, 441. 

Vision. 445. 

Food. 446. 

At Jerusalem, 447. 

Ashy-necked, 447. 

World-wide, 447. 
Red Deer, 200. 
Reem, 121. 
Rhinopoma microphijlla, 

IS. 
Rhesn*, 3. 
Rock Rabbit, 315. 
Roe, 133. 

How hunted, 137. 

Falconry, 139. 

Swiftness, 140. 
Rook, 447. 

s. 

Sand-rat, 96. 
Satyr, 10. 

Sealaria diadema, 588. 
Scheltopusic, 531. 
Science and religion agree, 
660, 670. 

Science and law, 666. 

Limits of, 667. 

God in science, 676. 
Scincu* officinal)'*, 531. 
Scorpion, 640. 
SeUlv, 534. 
Seps, 533. 
Serpents. 540. 

Motion, 541. 



Serpents, Poison, 542. 

Flying, 5 43. 

Serpent charmers, 545 

Striking horses, 551. 
Shalak. 490. 
Sheat-fishes, 565. 
Sheep, 14(5. 

Pasturage, 147. 

Shepherd's care, 149. 

Watering, 151. 

Names. 155. 

Folds, 156. 

Sheep dogs, 158. 

Fattened, 159. 

Milk. 165. 

Butter. 166. 

Wool, 168. 

Horns. 173. 

Sacrifice, 178. 
Shephiphon, 550. 
Shrew-mouse, 69. 
Si/en us veter, 6. 
Si/urus inacracanthus, 566. 
Sinaitic survey, 699. 

Mountains, 700. 

Route of Israel, 701. 

Fountains, 702. 

Bedouin, 702. 

Graves, 703. 

Mementoes of Moses, 
703. 
Skink, 531. 
Snail, 589. 
Snake. Dart, 543. 

Horatta-pam, 553. 
Solomon's fleet, 1. 
Spa/ax, 88. 
Sparrow, 395. 

-hawk, 365. 

On housetops, 397. 

Value of. 400. 

Nets, 401. 

Nests, 402. 

Cages, 404. 

House, 404. 
Sphsenops sepzoides, 533. 
Spider, 443. 
Sponge, 647. 
Spontaneous generation, 

655. 
Stannel Hawk, 365. 
Star-gazer, 581. 
j Starling. 449. 
Steinbok, 903. 
Stork, 478. 

Sacred, 480. 

Feeding, 480. 

Nests, 481. 

Care of young, 483. 

Black, 483. 
Strix flammea, 373. 
Surmullet, 582. 
Sus, 24S. 
Swallow, 381. 

In captivity, 386. 



Swallow, Superstition, 387. 

Oriental, 387. 

Russet, 388. 

Migratory, 389. 

White, 391. 

-tail. Syrian, 391. 
Swan, 485. 
Swine, 292. 

Prohibited, 292. 

Hated, 293. 

Protection from, 294. 

Flesh abhorred, 295. 

Herd destroyed, 297. 

Wild boar, 300. 
Swift. 3S8. 

Alpine, 389. 

Galilean, 389. 

Marsh. 404. 

Spanish, 404. 

Tree, 403. 
Syrian Goat, 200. 

Grayling, 631. 

Orange-tip, 631. 

Swallow-tail, 831. 



Tabanus marocanus, 635. 
Tachash, 70. 
Testudo Grieca, 507. 
Tht/nnus thrjnnus, 570. 
Tinea granella, 626. 
Tinnunculu8 alaudarius, 

365. 
Tinshemeth, 87, 488. 
T6, 116. 

Tones, Sacred, 175. 
Tortoise, 505. 

Habits, 508. 

Hibernation, 510. 

Terror to horses, 511. 
Toxicoa, 552. 
Trumpet, Ram's-horn. 175 
Truxalis, 598. 
Taebi, 133. 
Tunny, 570. 
Turtle Dove, 419. 

Collared, 421. 

Palm, 421. 
Turtor risorius, 421. 

Senegalensix, 421. 
Tzippor-deror, 391. 
Tzirah, 612. 

u. 

Uncorn, 121. 

A real animal, 122. 

Horns, 128. 

Talmud legend, 129. 
Unto margaritiferue, 593. 
Upupa epops, 392. 
Urano8copus-x<;aher, 581. 
Ursun lHnbellinu8, 76. 
Ursus, 127. 



716 



INDEX. 



Vespa orientalis, 616. 
Viper, 552. 

Horned, 551. 

Sand, 552. 

Yellow, 555. 
Vulture, in Palestine, 
345. 

Swiftness, 348. 

Vision, 347. 

Resting-place, 348. 

Arabian, 348. 

Nests, 350. 

Flight, 353. 

of Scripture, 357. 



w. 

Wall-lizard, 69. 
Wanderoo, 6. 
Weasel, 68. 
Wheelbird, 379. 
Wild Bull, 116. 

Goat, 203. 

Ox, 116. 
Wind-hover, 365. 
Wing-shell, 590. 
Wolf, 50. 

In packs, 51. 

Ravages, 52. 

Among sheep, 53. 
Worm, 644. 



Worm, Canker, 630. 
Crimson, 632. 
Palmer, 630. 

X. 

Xo.ntharpya segyptica, 16. 

Y. 

Yanshuph, 373. 

z. 

Zamar, 186. 

Zeeb, 50. 

Zootoca vivipara, 529. 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



GENESIS. 

3:1-5 541 

8:7 439 

8:8 409 

12: 16 276,217 

16: 12 282 

18:7 103 

18 : 8 166 

22 : 3 264 

24: 10,19 217 

27 : 19 190 

27 : 40 103 

29 : 2 149 

29: 10 151 

30 : 43 217 

31:19 172 

31 :34 228 

36:24 276,285 

37:17 150 

41 : 42 626 

41 :43 256 

4G: 33 150 

48 : 16 581 

49:9 24 

49: 17 542 

49 : 21 209 

49:27 53 

50: 1 304 

EXODUS. 

2: 17 152 

7 : 10 526,528 

8:3 558 

8:16 636 

9:3 217 

10: 18,19 602 

12:3-10 178-185 

12:34 196 

13:4 57 

14:6 254 

16: 11-13 431 

19: 16 174 

23:27,28 613 

25:4 588 

25:5 70 

26:7 191 

26: 14 70-75 

28:33 177 

29:22 161 

30:25 173 

30:34 590 

32:5 U2 

35:25 169 

LEVITICUS. 

1:14-17 410 

3:9 161 

7:32 164 

11 :5 314,321 

11 :7 292 

11:9-11 565 

11 : 13 334,485 

11 :14 :.357 

11 : 16 377,450 

11 : 17 370,490 

11:19 17,478 



11:20 11 

11 : 21 505 

11 :22 596,598 

11:29 68,507 

11 : 30. .528-530, 87, 69, 534-539 

14:4 411,397 

17:7 10 

19: 19 288,171 

25:9 174 

26 : 13 103 

NUMBERS. 

11 : 31-32 432 

11 :45 564 

13:31-33 597 

22:21 279 

23:22 124 

29:1 174 

32 : 16 157 

DEUTERONOMY. 

1 :44 606 

2:25 614 

4:5 186-187 

4: 18 580 

7 : 20 613 

8: 15 641 

11 : 13,19 469 

12:15 135 

14:5 116, 135,142 

14:7 97-100,314 

14 : 12, 16 486, 356, 334 

14: 13 359,357 

14 : 15 364, 405-456, 377, 378 

14:17 490,340 

14:18 392,478 

14 : 19 505 

14: 21 164 

15 : 22 135 

16: 16 253 

22: 11 171 

25:14 107 

28:42 596 

28 :48 104 

32 : 9-12 351 

32: 13 166,609 

32:33 544 

33: 16 125 

34: 10-11 373 

JOSHUA. 

6:4 174 

9:4 195 

JUDGES. 

1:14 267 

3 : 31 105 

4:2 255 

4:15 254 

5: 10 267 

5:22 250 

5 : 25 166 

6:5 597 

6: 19 189-191 

7: 12 217 

8: 2 229 



10:34 265 

12: 13-14 265 

15:4-5 57-61 

16: 13 170 

1st SAMUEL. 

1 :39 173 

5:4 580 

6:5 93 

6: 7 108 

7:9 160 

9:25 397 

11 :5, 7 Ill 

12 :3 159 

13:18 67 

13 : 21 105 

17 : 17-18 167 

17 : 33-36 77 

17:43 42 

17:50 153 

18:21 402 

23: 14-25 157 

24: 2 203 

24: 2-4 158 

24: 14 639 

25: 23 267 

25:36 172 

26:20 427,428,639 

2d SAMUEL. 

2:18 134 

6:8 335 

9:8 42 

13: 29 286 

14:22 397 

16:9 42 

17 :8 79 

17:10 24 

17 : 29 166-167.610 

18:9 287 

22:33 210 

23:20 24 

24:22 106 

1ST KINGS. 

1 : 33-38 287 

1 :39 173 

4:22 102 

4: 22-23 145,422 

4:26 254 

4 : 33 565 

8:37 597 

10 : 18 302 

10 : 22 425, 426, 2,3, 8 

10: 21--5 288 

12 : 11 642 

12 : 28 112 

18 : 3 288 

18 : 6 441 

19 : 19 104 

22 : 38 45 

22: 39 305 

2D KINGS, 

3:4 169 

4:24 267,272 

717 



718 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



5: 17 290 

6:25 417 

8:9 221 

8:13 42 

9:13 2iV7 

11: 23,24 78 

19:28 573 

1st CHRONICLES. 

4: 39 150 

12:8 134 

12 : 40 108,221,289 

15: 12 335 

27:29 Ill 

27:30 217 

2d CHRONICLES. 

2: 7 588 

9:21 2 

34:22 626 

NEHEMIAH. 

3:2 256 

3:3 578 

7:68 289 

13: 16 578 

ESTHER. 

3: 12 232 

6:8,9 626 

JOB. 

1:3 276,217 

4: 11 25 

4: 18,19 625 

6 : 5 281 

6:6 422 

7:5 645 

7 : 12 526 

8:11 473 

8 : 14 644 

10: 10 167 

10: 12 51 

11: 12 281 

14: 6 281 

14: 11 645 

18: 7 118 

18 : 8, 10 121 

19:6 27,118 

19 :26 645 

20 : 14-16 542, 544, 552,553 

20: 17 166 

21 : 26 645 

24:5 282 

24:20 64,5 

25 : 6 645 

27:18 592 

28:7 357,358 

28 : 18 647 

30: 1 41 

30:29 370-376 

38: 41 440,441 

39: 1 203,212 

39:5-8 281 

39 : 9 126-132 

89 : 13-19 451 

39 : 13 478 

39: 14 454 

39: 19-25 250 

39 : 26 365,366 

39 : 27-30 346 

40: 15 319-325 

40: 17 330 

40: 21 325 

41 : 1-34 511-525 

41 : 5 405 

41:7 573 

41 : 1,2 571 

42: 12 217 



PSALMS. 




30: 26 


313 


9: 15 


27 


30:27 


597 


10 : 9 


26 


30 : 28 


..643 


17 : 11 


26 


30 : 29-31. 


201 


20:7 


255 


30:31 


49 


22: 12 

22:14 


109 

612 


30 : 33 . 


166 


31 : 19 


169 


22: 16 


43 


31 : 22 


627 


22:21 


125 






23: 1 


149 


ECCLE 


23:2 


.154-156 


10:1 


632 


27:11 


154 


10 : 8 


543 


28:45 


634 


12:4 


383 


29 : 6 


.104, 126 
212 


12 : 5 


598 


29:9 






32:9 


.289, 289 


CAN' 


34:20 


164 


1:15 


416 


35:8 


27 


2: 7 


209 


39:11 


625 


2:7-9 


135,136 


42: 1,2 


.210,211 


2:8,9 


210 


45: 8 


304 


2:12 


420 


46:9 


255 


2:14 


416,417 


51:21 


119 


2: 15 


61 


55 : 6,7 


417 


4: 1,2 


201 


57:6 


118 


4: 8 


26 


58 : 3-5 


545 

542 


4 : 8 


36 


58:4,5 


5: 10,11.. 


445 


58:8 


589 


5:12 


416 


59:14 


48 


5: 14 


304 


63 : 10 


56 


6:5 


202 


66:3,17 


233 


6:9 


416 


66: 11 


118 


7:4 


304 


68: 13 


417 






68: 17 


256 




ISAIAH. 


68: 30 


300 


1 : 18 


623,171 


76:6 


255 


2:20 


11,88 


77:20 


153 


5: 28 


250 


78: 2-27 


432 


7: 15 


166 


79:13 


151 


7: 18 


633,607,606 


80: 12 


300 


7: 21 


159 


81: 16 


609 


7 : 22 


611 


84: 1-3 


.402, 403 


10: 14 


422 


84:3 


386 


11 : 6 


35 


92 : 10 


..123, 125 


11:8 


544 


97:5 


612 


13 : 13, 14. 


134 


102:5-7 


.397-399 


13: 21 


2 


102: 6 371 


, 495, 496 


14 : 22, 23. 


80-83 


103: 1,5 


352 


14:28.... 


463 


104:3 


256 


14:29 


554 


104 : 1, 2 


383 


18 • 1 2.... 


473 


104: 16,17 


.478-482 


19 : 8-10.. 


568 


104 : 18 203 


-206, 315 


21 : 7 


221,246,247 


104:20 


26 


25 : 10 


108 


104 : 24-26 


.506, 526 


30: 6 


222,552 


118: 25,26 


266 


30:23 


108 


119: 83 


195 


32: 20 


274 


124:7 


401 


34: 6,7.... 


126 


140 : 3 


542 


34: 10,11. 
34 : 13-15. 


..80, SI, 446, 466, 501 
10,375,359 


140:5 


59 


147 : 9 


442 


35:6 


210 


147 : 16 


171 


38: 12 


170 


PROVERBS. 




38 : 13, 14. 
40:8 


388,416,477 

415-419 


3:5 


401 


40: 11 


156 


5:18,19 


.203, 212 


41 : 15 


106 


6 : 4,5 


134 


43 : 20 


251 


6 : 6-8 


.616-622 
401 


50 • 2 


579 


7: 23 


50 : 9 


625 


11 : 22 


299 


51 : 20 


27,116 


15: 17 


102 


56 : 10 


41 


17 : 12 


79 


59 : 5 


422,554,644 


23: 32 


554 


59 : 11 


416 


25: 16-27 


610 


60 : 6 


231 


26:2 


387 


65: 3,4.... 


291! 


26:3 

28: 1 

28:15 


269 

21 

73 


66:20 


288 


JEREMIAH. 


30 : 15 


646 


2 : 2.'! 


231 


30: 17 


.345, 346 


2 : 24 


282 


30: 19 


541 


3 : 10 


78 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



719 



4:5 174 

4:7 26 

4: 13 2(51 

5: 6 26,35,51 

5 : 27 404 

6 : 23 258 

8: 6 250 

8 : 7 385, 389, 420. 475, 478 

10 : 22 5-26 

11 : 11 526 

12: 7-9 62,63 

12:8 26 

13:23 34 

14:5 212 

17: 11 429 

17 :25 262 

25:38 26 

41 :8 609 

46:3,4 259 

46 : 2:; 597 

46:20 102 

47:3 256 

4S: 28 417 

49: 16 354 

50 : 42 259 

51:38 25 

LAMENTATIONS. 

1 :6 , 215 

3: 10 26 

3:27 104 

4:3 455,528 

4: 19 346 

5 :17 57 

EZEKIEL. 

2: 6 642 

2:66 289 

7:6 258 

7: 16 47 

10: 14 352 

12: 13 119 

13: 11 592 

16: 10 71,627 

19:2 26 

19:8 119 

22: 27 : 53 

24: 10 165 

26:10 256 

27:6 305 

27: 14 290 

27: 15 304,312 

27 : 16 647 

27 : 17 610 

29 : 2-5 526 

29: 5 65 

32:2,3 527 

34: 13 151 

38:4 573 

38:22 592 

47: 10 579 

DANIEL. 

5 : 7 58 

5:21 279 

6: 16 28 

7:5 80 

7:9 171 



HOSE A. 

4: 3 580 

7 : 11,12 417 

10: 14 349 

13: 7 30,35 

13: 8 79 

JOEL. 
1 :4 630,597 

1 : 18 109 

2:2-11 600 

2 :4,5 256-260 

2 : 25 597,630 

6:19 165 

AMOS. 

2: 13 108 

3:4 25 

3:8 25 

3 : 12 202 

3:15 305 

4:2 573 

5: 19 78 

5: 18,19 543 

6 : 4 305 

6:9 630 

JONAH. 
4:7 645 

MICAH. 

1 :3,4 612 

1 :8 461 

1 : 16 345-352 

2:2,3 164 

4: 13 251 

7:2 119 

7: 17 645 

NAHUM. 

3: 2 260 

11:7 415 

HABAKKUK. 

1 :5 34 

1 : 6-8 346 

1 :8 51 

1 : 14-17 578 

1 : 15 573 

3: 18 256 

3: 18,19 210 

ZEPHANIAH. 

2:14 80 

2: 13,14 501 

3:3 52 

ZECHARIAH. 

5:9 479 

9:9 265 

14: 15 288 

MATTHEW. 

3:4 604 

4 : 18 576 

6: 19 625 

7:6 42 

7: 15 53 



8:20 61 

8:28-34 297 

9: 17 192-194 

10:29 400 

11:29 104 

13:45 595 

15: 26 42-44 

17 : 27 572 

18:6 275 

19:23,24 242 

21 : 5 266 

22:4 102 

23:24 244 

24: 25 345 

25:52 199 

LUKE. 

10: :; 5:; 

11 : 11,12 422,642 

12 : 3 398 

12:6 400 

12: 24 442 

13: 32 61 

14: 20 258 

15 : 15 294 

15 : 29 190 

16:21 44 

JOHN. 

2 : 6 196 

2 : 9-11 614 

10: 3 154,155 

10: 1-16 53,156 

15:3 643 

19:23 170 

21 : 9 564 

21 :11 577 

24:11,12 613 

ACTS. 

8: 28 257 

9:36 135 

15: 10 104 

1st CORINTHIANS. 
9:7 167 

PHILIPPIANS. 
3:2 43 

1st TIMOTHY. 

6: 1 104 

JAMES. 

3: 7 545 

5: 1-3 625 

2D PETER. 

2 ;22 299 

REVELATIONS. 

1 : 14 171 

9: 10 641 

16: 13 560 

18 : 11 306 

18: 11,12 627 

21 : 21 594 

22: 14 43 



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* ^>S*V ^0 d» +y£64f~%* *r O* 'J^S^S rO Neutralizin 9 agent: Magnesium Oxide 

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